When you were a kid, there was a store that you hated going to, and yet, there you were, every week or two, getting dragged to that store by your parents. It was absolute torture and to this day you shudder when you think of that store and the awful, boring times you spent there. (And yet…maybe on some weird nostalgic level, you miss that store a little.)
What store are we talking about?
Any clothing store, actually, but if I were to pick one, it would be Robert Hall, where I was fitted for suits and had to be measured. A fat kid doesn't like to be measured.
Easily Sears. Every time we went to the mall–and jeez, looking back we went to the mall a LOT–we had to spend a good hour in Sears. And because I was too young, I couldn't just go and get lost in the toy section or sit in the section with books and look through things, I had to walk around with my mom while we looked at bedding and toiletries and appliances, and she would just look forever like it was, to my 6 and 7 year old mind, HER version of a toy store. It was torture.
To be fair, when we finally got inside the mall proper there would be lunch and a Kay-Bee Toys with Star Wars toys and both a B. Dalton and a Waldenbooks to look around in (my mom really encouraged my reading and would look through the young adult fantasy section with me), but the preamble to getting there was the hardest thing for me to get through. I want to see if the new Return of the Jedi figures are out, and we're looking at towels? Mooooooom!!
I really can't think of any. This is going to plague me now, until I come up with one!
JoAnn Fabrics. They sell craft stuff these days, but back in the day it was JUST fabrics and patterns. My brothers and I tried to entertain ourselves by flipping through pattern books, but that was boring too. SO so boring.
Hardware stores.
Butera. Bigger than Aldi and the floors in front of the freezers were twice as sticky.
A wholly unpleasant shopping experience at many levels.