Teens Observed in the Malls

"Teens Observed in the Malls"

We just spent several hours observing teenagers
hanging out at our local mall. We came to the
conclusion many teenagers in America today
are living in poverty. Most young men we observed
didn't even own a belt; there was not one among
the whole group.

But that wasn't the sad part. Many were wearing
their daddy's jeans. Some jeans were so big and
baggy they hung low on their hips, exposing their
underwear. I know some must have been
ashamed their daddy was short, because his
jeans hardly went below their knees. They weren't
even their daddies' good jeans, for most had holes
ripped in the knees and a dirty look to them.

It grieved us, in a modern, affluent society like
America, there are those who can't afford a
decent pair of jeans. I was thinking about asking
my church to start a jeans drive for "poor kids at
the mall." Then on Christmas Eve, we could go
Christmas caroling and distribute jeans to these
poor teenagers.

But here is the saddest part...it was the girls they
were hanging out with that disturbed us most.
Never, in all of our lives, have we seen such
poverty-stricken girls. These girls had the opposite
problem of the guys. They all had to wear their little
sister's clothes. Their jeans were about 5 sizes too
small! I don't know how they could get them on, let
alone button them up. Their jeans barely went over
their hip bones. Most also had on their little sister's
top; it hardly covered their midsections. Oh, they
were trying to hold their heads up with pride, but it
was a sad sight to see these almost grown women
wearing children's clothes.

However, it was their underwear that bothered us
most. They, like the boys, because of the improper
fitting of their clothes, had their underwear exposed.
We had never seen anything like it. It looked like
their underwear was only held together by a single
piece of string.

We know it saddens your heart to receive this report
on the condition of our American teenagers. While
we go to bed every night with a closets full of clothes
nearby, there are millions of "mall girls" who barely
have enough material to keep it together. We think
their "poorness" is why these 2 groups gather at the
mall; boys with their short daddies & ripped jeans,
and girls wearing their younger sisters' clothes. The
mall is one place where they can find acceptance.
So, next time you are at the mall, doing your shopping ,
and you pass by some of these poor teenagers,
would you say a prayer for them?
And one more thing . . . . .

Will you pray the guys' pants won't fall down,
and the girls' strings won't break?

Thank you all,

A Concerned Grandmother
Received on Thu Jun 22 23:35:05 2006