Tommy in Lexington, Kentucky, recalls that when he was a youngster, a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C., led to a hilarious misunderstanding about exactly what might be on offer at the National Mall. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “My, You’re Really Excited About Hanging Out at the National Mall”
Tommy Carberry lives in Lexington, Kentucky. He emailed us to say that when he was a kid, his dad took him on a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C. And they had this map, and right in the middle was a section that said National Mall.
And Tommy writes, at this point in my tweens in the late 80s, early 90s, I was obsessed with shopping malls, as most of us were at that point. The idea of getting to see the National Mall was just so thrilling. So Tommy insisted that they go early so they’d have enough time to see everything.
My dad was thoroughly confused, he writes. His dad said, well, we’ll go buy it and even walk around it, but there’s really not that much to see there. It’s more about the monuments nearby.
And Tommy says, clearly my dad had no idea of the amount of time I would need to see all the stores at the National Mall. It must have everything, even a Banana Republic.
I can just imagine him waiting to see the naughty T-shirts at the Spencer’s Gifts on the National Mall. You know, the ones making fun of the president or whatever.
Saving up his money, setting some aside.
Right, right.
You know, looking cool for the attractive hotties they’re walking by at the National Mall.
Right, probably bringing an extra suitcase just to haul all that stuff home.
Oh…
