- [mike]: i started coming to this mall in 1982 when it opened. hey anlee, this is mike, jasper mall. i have few emp space [upbeasynth pop] ♪ [ambient mus] - [announcer]: major funding for reel south was provided by: etv endowment, the national endowment for the arts, center for asian-american media,

south arts, and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. additional funding for "jasper mall" was provided by: [crickets chirping] [footsteps] [keys jingling] [door creaks open] [circuit breaker door creaks open] [switches click on] [keys jingle] [locks click open]

- [mike]: i'm housekeeping, maintenance, security.. and i just make sure that at night if it don't get done, i make sure it gets done in the morning. sometimes.. which i'll show you, sometimes, like, the shelter wasn't.. going out the shelter door wasn't locked or whatever and we have we'll have some homeless... or some, i guess you'd say druggies. yeah. this whole back end was jc penny's. - [radio announcer] talking about how bad traffic is in february, significantly deeper... so you're talking about malls that are going to be ghost towns. that we're not going to coach. and i think that when you see the prime jc penny mall businesses, and you say to yourself, wow

what would happen if the mall just has like blank space blank, space, blank, space, blank space? you gonna go there? [gentle, somber music] ♪ ["best thing that ever happened to me" by baker knight plays] ♪ you give me strength to carry on ♪ ♪ when the chips are down

♪ [over mall loudspeakers] ♪ my skies of gray soon fade away ♪ ♪ whenever you're around ♪ [metallic grates retracting] ♪ and in my heart you are a part ♪ ♪ of everything i try to do ♪ ♪ i believe that the best thing that ever happened to me is you ♪ [metallic grates retracting] ♪ you brought me love the kind of love ♪ ♪ that i had never known ♪ ♪ each thing i do i do for you ♪ ♪ and only you alone ♪ ♪ for deep inside i cannot hide ♪ ♪ the way i love you like i do ♪ ♪ i believe that the best thing that ever happened to me is you ♪ ♪

[phone rings] - [employee] robin's nest. - wendy: hey, th is wendy with the southern company. - hi... i don't know that we can get it to.. what funeral home's handlin'? if the visitation is from 10 to 12, the family's probably going to be there at nine o'clock and my delivery person is making deliveries to them.. to a church. so i don't think it can get over there in time... okay. i'm sorry, okay, bye bye. [hangs up phone] funeral work, you know, i mean

that's a big part of the flower shops. so i've been doing it since day one. and i've been here for 25 years or so. and it's hard sometimes, especially when it's people that you know, or it's a family member.. you know i lost my brother about six, seven weeks ago. so when you have to do flowers for family, you know, it's harder. it's just all part of it. i don't do as many weddings as i used to do. but as far as fresh bouquets for birthdays.. all that, we do.

- [mike]: you guys have, [laughs] you have no idea. i hate to say it, but i don't know what it is but um... we've had all kinds, but i mean.. we've had people poop in the middle of the floor in the bathroom... in the urinal, you know? and.. i don't see how, i guess it's just meanness, you know i don't see how they... can miss a toilet that big and... hit it in the floor. and we've had all, i mean... and then we have the regulars, we average about... i'd say we usually get about 30 walkers in the morning at all different times. you doing okay today, sir?

- [male customer]: yes sir, how you doing mike? - [mike]: good seeing ya. how are you doing ma'am? - [female customer] : good, good. - [mike]: sweet. - [together]: i pledge allegiance, to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic, for which it stands one nation,under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. amen. - [female customer]: all right guys, have a good one. - [male customer]: we'll see

- [male customer #2]: here, ten. - [male customer #3]: you ought to be able to count. there you go. - [male customer #4]: yeah [mumbles] - [male customer#5]: at least five anyway. - [male customer #4]: i'd like four. - [male customer #5]: oh, okay. that's a good deal. - [char]: well, i'll play where i can. - [male customer #5]: there ya go... ohh my goodness, give him a big 10. [male customer #4]: double douce will make you 15 there, sir. - [char]: okay, that's cool, but i get domino. i get 15. - [male customer #4]: give the man 15. - [master cuts employee]: have a seat right here.. as far as your neck line goes... did we want to keep it like... you said, no crazy style, just kind of shape it? - [female customer #2]: yeah.. i'll put this one with no hair on it. you might have to move that. all right... my batman cape.

- [female customer #2]: are you excited about luna's birthday? - [master cuts employee]:no, because i have to go decorate and get her ready and bake her a cake. i'm trying to do it fun... and that's not gonna work. - [female customer #2]: no, no... [laughs] ... kind of like that, i guess, but no designs... even though the designs are pretty cool. - [master cuts employee]: so i'll like.. i'll get you basically what you want from there.. we'll work around the rest of it. - [female customer #2]: that feels so good, i love it. - [master cuts employee]: well, it feels like.. a newborn puppy. - [female customer #2]:ohh, it kind of does, ohh! - [master cuts employee]: i kinda miss us hanging out. - [female customer #2]: i know... mmmmmm... yeah, we'll go with that.

- [master cuts employee]: you sure? i mean, i can cut short if you want me to. - [female customer #2]:yeah, i guess. is the arch right in the middle? - [master cuts employee]: yeah. ... here goes ma'am. - [female customer #2]: god, i have so many wrinkles on my forehead. - [master cuts employee]:it's 'cause we gettin' old, we gettin' wrinkles. - [female customer #2]: [whispers] shut up. - [mike]: sir, how are you? you got what you wanted? - [male customer #6]: yep... now you ought to listen to this one. teacher asks little johnny... johnny... who was the first president? johnny studdered a little bit..

he said "teacher, you think you know?" she said "i don't think, i know." he said "i don't think i kn either." - [laughs in unison] - [male customer #6]: hey, i got one more. teacher asks little ol' jim in the class.. she said "who was, uh.... who was the first man on earth?" he said "charles cartwright." "ohh no, no jim! it was adam!" he said "i knew it was one of them cartwrights!" - [laughs in unison] - [male customer #6]: y'all have a good one.

- [male customer #7]: how are you this morning michael? - [mike]: sir, i'm doing great. i have no complaints. - [male customer #7]: well that's good. - same here. - [char]: i just uh.. it's called a smart phone. too dang'on smart for me.[laughs] - [female]: well how are you char? - [char]: well, i heard her that you asked about me and i told your husband i was gone call you antell you good morning. - [female]: hello? - [char]: hello? is dang'on phone makes me angry.

- [female]: hello? see...an you hear me now? - [char]: there it goes dialin' again.. i don't know who it's dialing this time. - [char's son]: yeah pop? - [char]: i'm sorry son, i've got the wrong number. i'll talk to you later. - [char's son]: ohh, that's all right, that's alright. - [char]: yeah, can you hear me? it was my phone, not yours. - [woman on phone, inaudible] - [char]: well actually angie, i am doing great compared to three months ago when they pronounced me dead. - [woman on phone, inaudible] - [char]: well that's the third time i've been pronounced dead... well, i'm in my eighties... eventually it's going to be a "found". [laughs] - [woman on phone, inaudible] - [char]: hey, well, from what my bible tells me and for what i saw in my first time i was dead, which i was actually dead that time.

i know what heaven looks like, so uh.. i'm looking forward to it. - [jeweler]: i started coming to this mall in 1982, when it opened.. it was the place to be. i mean, every weekend, this mall was crowded every day.

well, being a young man back then that's what we'd come to the mall for was the bird dog girls. [laughs] and there was plenty around here. this mall was just packed out. it was a beautiful mall at the time. yeah, i've been in this mall eight years and i love this mall. i've fought for this mall and done everything i can for this mall, but i can't make a living here. last week i had a $24 a day and i had a $16 day.. and you can't live on that. and it's just kept on getting worse d worse. and for a jeweler, it takes one day to have one customer, have a good day. but with the traffic we have, the chances of that one customer gets slim, slim, slimmer, and slimmer. we've heard the rumors it's every, every week. well the week we're in right now, we're hearing victoria secrets coming, but who comes to a mall and stuff is leaving.

when there's an exodus going on, who comes in? i mean, i look out my door right now and you don't see a soul. that's what i look at every day. you look out there more and see nobody out there, than y do seeing a crowd of people. with fridays and saturdays, you'll get a little bit of people.. but nothing too... nothing substantial. i can fix that... i move out, i can solve that problem.

- [mike]: i owned a zoo for 25 years. lions, tigers... yep. now you probably see that smile. that was.. that's my passion. i've been in the hospital 22 times. and i went in the pin with everything. they were my kids and.. my wife said, look.. [laughs] she would just increase the life insurance policy on me. and she said, listen, you know, you might want to slow down. a baboon ripped that tendon and nerve out for me.. here. buffalo horned me right there...

a mountain lion [laughs] right there. just, you know, normal stuff. [laughs] - i'm gonna let you fill that out for me. tell me what you know, when you can work. if i said hey look, you gotta go take a drug test, could you pass it? - [new hire]: yes, sir. - [mike]: okay. we do go around with a broom and dustpan which everything is out here, and i'll show you. i'm just showing you that, that way if you think you might want to do it, you're welcome to.. all right. we have 25 garbage cans in this mall. 20 - 25. five are outside the mall, three in the front. there's one around one side, but there's 25. and here's what i do: when i tell him to check, like this one has got coke and stuff in it, so we empty it. but the other times i tell them if it's halfway full, empty it, you know, if not... and you don't have to do them, we empty them at night. - [new hire]: right. - [mike]: at seven o'clock. when i say clean the bathoms, it means the glass.

it means - - [new hire]: everything? - [mike]: yes- - [new hire]: perfect. - [mike]: it means make sure the tissues are full, the urinal.... now, i'm gonna give an example.... last week uh.. somebody decided they didn't want to use the bathroom, they decided to just poop on the floor. - [new hire]: really? - [mike]: yeah. i'm just being straightforward. - [new hire]: that's crazy. - [mike]i know. but what i'm getting at is if you come in here and see a pile of poo on the floor, um... your job is to clean, okay? you'd be surprised how many run and go get me because they're going look, so what do i do? you clean it up. the ladies, it only has two stalls in it but we always check for security... anybody in here? you always, since it's the lady's room make sure they know, that way you're not getting in trouble. and then we do have signs we put out there... but i'm just showing you that, you know.. like this, i'm fixing to paint these walls in here, okay? somebody got happy with a magic marker. and just like in there you see that crack? we're fixing to fix it.

well, what do you think? - [new hire]: sounds good to me. - [mike]: are you sure? - [new hire]: yes, sir. - [mike]: all right. - [female employee] sales are down just a little bit, but it's not been that bad for me because most of mine's on the phone anyway, except for holidays and the gift items. but as far as the flowers, fresh, that's phone orders. so that hasn't really changed that much. and then decoration, you know, is our seal. so that's helped keep our sales up. - [male employee]: yeah, it says august 5th, 1981.

- [female employee]: i can't believe all those cars. - [in unison]: it was packed out. - [male employee]: all the way around there, wasn't it? - [female employee]: yeah. there's the toy store... and chic-fil-a.. as the world turns... - [male robin's nest employee]: yeah, the actress from as the world turns. - [female robin's nest employee]: oh my goodness. - [male robin's nest employee]: yeah, but i'll let y'all look through that... i mean, it was just back there in the back, back in the filing cabinet, so.. - [female employee]: oh no, he had to.. james davidson. he used to have a christmas store. he just set up every year... just a christmas store. james vidson, a math teacher at walker high school. he wore an ugly tie in the ugly tie contest held at the jasper mall over the weekend. for his first place finish, davidson won a vcr.

oh, looky here... look athat fashion contest. - [master cuts employe: i'd like to open my own salon. that's what i'd like to do. i want to open us our own tattoo shop together. - [female customer #2]: that'd be, oh my god... the rocker theme? you can have a motorcycle parked in there. [laughs] i just want to leave jasper. like, i love it here. everybody knows everybody here, yes. - [master cuts employee]: well, when you go to places like new york, you're just so out in this big.. it's a fishbowl. it's a fricking ocean... like you're just out in this ocean, just... what do i do? - [female customer #2]: i'm just trying to move up.

i just want to hurry up and be a manager as quickly as i can, make really good money. get a nice house and just go on with my life. maybe settle down... have a kid or two- - [master cuts employee]: i've learned to... like, go with the flow. i worried so much about putting a lot of things in perspective really fast like getting married, having kids really fast. and i thought, i didn't. i love, i love my daughter. - [female customer #2]: well, that's the thing to do. you got to get married. you got to have kids. you got to do all this, this, this, and that. you don't want to be one of the leftover women in this town. - [master cuts employee]: but you realize how small this place is? - [female customer #2]: yeah. - [master cuts employee]: and it like, it kind of puts a little bug on you like, okay, what's next? like, i like this small town kind of like this, the comfort of it. but there's something bigger out there. there's sothing way bigger out there. and i just want to, like.. i just want to leave my mark on the world. like just.. leave my mark, so like this little stain. - [female customer #2]: [laughs] a little skid mark. - [master cuts employee]: pretty much.. like, that's the way i want it to be, yeah. [in a silly accent] i left a skid mark on the u.s.! - [laughs in unison]

- [female customer 2]: [inaudible] - [mike]: now, this is where the old k-mart used to be. it's a good size building right here. but like i said, this, this is 84- im gone shut this door right here- this is 84,500 square feet. sir, are you doing good? - [male customer #8]: doing fine, and you?

doing great, thank you. but this is a big building. we're trying to get something else to go back in here. they had everything in here. we just have to, you know, we have to come in and check it and make sure that nobody has broke a window or the, or a door, or the glass on the outside. and they just, they had just turned the power off here. i believe this was a customer service booth and uh.. heck, we could use it now, can't we? but this, i mean, when they would come in, they'd come in here first, ya know? but this right here is the booth. cause they did, they had, look... there's still..

still got the phone here. my wife, her company, they were over this small and then she got transferred and i was coming through, i was, i was bringing tigers [laughs] to a zoo and i stopped by here to see her. and i, i'd come through when i was moving animals and stuff. and stop by and started, started coming in spending some time with her and stuff. and then the owner offered me a job and i said, well, okay so i've been doing it. look at this. well, some people believe in ghosts. - [male store voiceover ghostly, inaudible]

- [female store voiceover]: attention k-mart shoppers, we would like to bring to your attention our prescription department. stop by... [voice fades out] - [male store voiceover]: ...that's going to make bells ring for you! get a general electric cordless phone... - [female store voiceover]: but don't wait too long, this sale ends saturday. - [male store voiceover]: right here, right now... convenient layway plan... thank you for shopping our k-mart! [voices fa out into music] [mall muzak plays] [chimes and motor from the claw game] ♪ [indistinct shoppers talking]

[construction metal clanging] - the carnival, it's gonna be here 10 days, and we're hoping it's just gonna start bringing a lot of, you know, locals, and well, the whole county. we're hoping it's just gonna start bringing 'em for the mall. and, you know, it'll befit the carnival, and it'll benefit this mall, and that's what we're hoping we're gonna do, is just start, well, it's like, we got a sign up there, you know, we want everybody to come, everody have fun. - [woman] i love the fair. - [man] yeah but so many people's learned the hard way. you do not play their games. - [woman] no, lauren lost $460 amount. - [man] yeah, i know. - [man] i need 2 armbands. - i'll help him.

- [ticket seller] can i see your right hand, ma'am? - oh, other hand. there you go. alright. my turn. - [casey] y. i want, a funnel cake, with the sprinkles on it. and then a sprite. - [isador] you want a small or large? - [casey] small. - [carnival advertisement] we come in all shapes and sizes- - i guess we're at a peace, 'cause they keep on playing that song. i guess we're at peace now. - you better win me a fish. - huh? - win me a fish. - uh - ooh! [camera clicks] - [casey] thank you. i don't wanna drop it. - this thing good for real. - i know, sprinkles go with it. you remember homecoming? the ones that we had, and it had, like, strawberries?

- yeah, that was all right, but this.. - this is better thathat. - the thing top. - the strawberry's so good. [indistinct children chatter] - [woman] come on. - [man] come on. - [woman] hurry. - [man] come on, we'll hurry. yeah. - thank you. are you ready? - yeah! i'm not ready. - it's okay, it's not scary at all. i'm right here with you. - but it's so scary. - it's okay. it's okay to be scared, that's okay, look, look. nothin' bad's gonna happen, - i wanna get down. - put your arm right here, and hang on. - no! - i got you, i got you. put your arm right here- - no! [woman shushes] - it's okay. - get me out. - look, look, just stay right here. [child crying] it's okay, it's gonna be super fun. - i don't want horses. - it's like riding a real pony. [bell ringing] - i don't want to.

- you ready? you ready? [child crying] - no! - wait a minute. - i wanna get down! [ride whirs] - look at here. i got, ya. woo hoo! there you go! - i don't wanna, i'm gonna die! - oh my god, you're doing so good! - i don't want it! - oh my god, luna it's okay. - get me down! i don't wanna, i don't want to! - you wanted so bad. [bouncy music] [child panting] - i wanna go. - see? it's okay. [carnival music continues]

[laughing] [phone vibrating] - who's calling me? hey, i'm busy. i can't come. okay? all right, well i love you, you have fun, okay? do good. bye. - hey, tell 'em i'm the dj. i'm the dj on jasper, jams throwing up. [isador laughing] make a rap about school. - hey, we 'bout to graduate, - graduate! - and then we're gonna eat cake. - cake? what? - graduate, eat cake? - this is not our birthday. i know imma vomit, i know i am, i feel it.

- i don't know what you said, it was too loud. - you know you heard me. - [casey] i promise you i didn't. - what? the fireball was too loud or something? - [casey] [chuckles] i guess. - with all the rattling? we might even fall off. - [casey] [laughing] no! - i was just playin', i was just playin, i was just.. - giving me anxiety attack. [bell ringing] oh, we're about to stop. - we cannot stop, what are you talking about? [slow piano music] - his cousin and me has been best friends since ninth grade, and in 10th grade, his cousin's little sister was like, "you should follow this dude on instagram." and i said, "okay", and i thought he was so cute. and i was like, waiting for him to post something for me to like, and he posted a 'to be honest', i was like, at him. then he liked my 'to be honest', so i was like, "to be honest, you cool, but i don't know you". and then we just started from there. and had a girl message me and saying "are y'all talking?" and i was like, "no". so i texted him, i said, "are you talking about me?"

and he said, "no." and then he gave me this number. we started dating about a month after that. [both laughing] you always have some old people that kind of looks at you like, "y'all aren't supposed to do that." and i have a lady that married one of my cousins, and she was really against it. and she told me right away, she's like, "you're going to go to hell for it", and started preaching the bible to me. so i asked my preacher and i was like, "is it reay gonna be an issue?" and i'm crying. i was really upset, cause i really liked him at the very beginning. and he said, well, he said, "everybody's gonna be against it." and really it's not even about interracial in the bible and stuff. so, he explained it to me, and ever since then, we really had that many issues. you had some people question you but, you just say you don't see color.

- my mom, she used to say i was crazy for trying to date a white girl at the time. whenever was she actually like, got to sit down with her and talk to her and stuff, she fell in love with her. still love her to this day. [dramatic music] [birds chirping] - hey, merry christmas. hey, merry christmas, ho ho ho ho. [echoing christmas music] hey, how you doing? merry christmas. y'all have a good day, okay? bye-bye! bye-bye. hey there.

hey. how are you doing? you doing okay? huh? you're doing okay? [child crying] - [both] it's okay. - [santa] it's okay. [toy squeaks] [fast instrumental jingle music] [camera shutters] - [man] i got 11. - 15 for me. - [man 2] well won't cut a 6. - gimme 10. - oh yeah, he gets mad, all the time. if y'all stay around, you might see him jump up, run down through here crying. - [man 3] he'd jump up and quit, at's all. - yeah. can you not see the way his eyes is turning, he's getting mad now, you watch him.

- his akes were porky town.. [laughing] - see, watch your mouth. [laughing] - [customer] somebody can do aot of damage with one of these. - [knifeeller] i guarantee you, that one there, that's a condor, right by condor. - looks like a rambo knife. - [knife seller] it does. - thing's huge. - that's a very large knife. i'm not sure exactly what that one is called. it's called a jungle bowie. - what are those? fillet knives right there - it is, yeah, that's an old henry fillet. that one runs 24. - [customer] i think that thing be sharp. - yeah. - [customer] you have any more fillet knives? - that is it. that's all i've got in at the moment. - [customer] and what about throwing knives? - [knife seller] these three are gonna be throwing, and then everything across the front right there is gonna be throwing.

- [customer] these right here, those are throwing as well? - [knife seller] those right there are actually called just push knives. - [customer] okay, like, that's why it's got the grip on like that? - [knife seller] that's right. yep. this right here, that's gon' be like your standard throwing knife. - [customer] i see, you couldn't buy these, i mean, they don't sell throwing knives at a walmart and stuff. - no. most of the time, now, most of the time you go hunting you use like a, you know, purchase them from a sporting goods store or something of that nature. - right, right. i can see how that would be easy to throw them. - [knife seller] yeah. there's a bunch of people that use and play around with throwing knives as well. i was nd of shocked when we got out here. - most people's already bought some? - [knife seller] oh yeah, yeah. yeah. - [customer] so are those throwing knives, as well, those- - [knife seller] from kids to adults, those are, that's a throwing knife as well. - [customer] good lord. - [knife seller] yeah, that's just a single thrower. - [customer] wow. - [knife seller] yep. [classical music echoes] - you know what you want for christmas? what you want for christmas? - a toy- - uh-huh. - i want you to give me toys.

- [both kids] cheese. [harmonica music] [christmas music plays] - i see what you're talking about. [car door slamming] - i'm going to deliver those poinsettias. - [woman off screen] okay. all right, be careful. [christmas music crescendos] [phone ringing]

- robin's nest. no actually, we're gonna close, we're gonna retire. so at the end of this mon, yeah. i'm sorry. so you just had to check.. we thanks. the's five or six other shops in jasper, so, you know, if you wannagive , but i appreciate you calling, and checking with us. well we just decided we'd retire, so that we can travel and dother things, so. we've been here 25 years, so it's time. okay. well thanks focalling, and good luck on your wedding.

okay. thank you. bye-bye. thank you, you too. [phone keypad beeps] [slow instrumental music] - hey angela, this is mike, jasper mall. i'm doing great. how are you? sweet. no, no worries. listen, i got your email, what i was gonna.. i have a few empty spaces, but one of the reasons why i was calling you today is, the two food spaces that we had. we had a grady's that was like sandwiches and stuff like that.

he had got out like two weeks ago and then we just had subway, got out yesterday, and i got it with mike cough, and i just told him, "we needomething in this mall and i've been calling the loca, i'm not from here, but i've been calling the locals trying to at least get, you knowsomething. so i guess i'm calling you for help. [chuckles] please. anything. i mean, cause now the tenants are saying, "look, you know, we're not really having anything to eat." you know, they don't want to keep going places, but we've got eight empty spaces. in the mall. yes. so like i said, we do desperately need, you know, some food joints, at least for a start. [slow music]

[slow music continues] [feet stomping] [nail file whirs] - as of two weeks ago i got officially accepted to west alabama, and then i'm going for an athletic training program there,

so, i'll get to work with all the athletes. and then that'll be my future. me and isador, we dated for, like, ever. we eventually broke up, we was trying to get back together. from the last time we hung out, he ended up dating a girl at my school. and we go to two different schools, so it was easier to forget about him, but then he started dating a girl there. so it made it hard. i fell in love, and he was my fist kiss. so i loved him. isadorold me that he was going to go for a couple months to his brother up in ohio, and do some kind of landscaping job or whatever. at this point, since i am going almost two, three hours away, i don't know if we need to keep trying or what.

i think eventually you grow over high school. - these are ligers, and big cats. it's a male lion, bred a female tiger. look how beautiful that tiger is. that's tabitha. that's senior the camel there. i had grizzlies, i had black bears. i had grizzly bears that would take marshmallows out of my mouth. but these all were my babies, and enjoy themselves at my facility. these activists would come out and didn't think an animal should be in the cage and,

videoed, i guess you'd say videoed me, and i guess i didn't say some things they were too fo of. and next thing i knew i got in trouble, and i ended up closing it. it wouldn't, it's just not worth it. just thinking about it makes me sick. see, i still have my place. it's just so depressing going back and just seeing all the empty cages. but when you do that so long and they're your kids, yeap. but, you know, that's why i mean, i took this job and it gets me out and about. get to see people, and talk to them, and i tell everybody at this mall i'm always joking with them, "i lefthe zoo, now i'm in a jungle."

[laughs] but, they liked to joke with me. so, it's all good. - took the sign down yesterday. that, to me that sort of makest official. [broom swishing] there were a lot of people come by today. tell us they're gon' miss us. we're 'gon miss them, too. some of 'em, you just think of 'em as family. they're up here so much. [slow music] okay, thank you.

[slow music] [door squeaking] [keys rattling] [slow instrumental music]

- [casey] i got accepted to west alabama. - [isador] yeah. - i cried, when i got my act to 18, and you know i needea 17. - yeah. - and so i cried. and when it was official, i was in the middle of class, and i just stopped. i just went to the bathroom and ju like cried. i was so happy. - yeah. - university of west alabama. - i leave may 26. - to ohio? - i'll be down there for a while. - just be careful. i feel like you're gonna do something, get in trouble. and i'm gonna have to fly up to ohio. - imma be up there for a good minute. - when are you comin' back? - mom said i can come back whenever. i aint gon' miss it. i aint even miss my homeboys

you know that? - dang, you aint gon' miss me at all? - nope. [laughs] - thanks. just, pink promise you'll be safe? - i'm gonna be safe. - and if something happens, you're gonna call me? if you need me? - what? how you gon' help? you like, how ma hours away? - uh, i could fly down there. - fly? wow- - or i can send you money. - bruh, i could get shot, and you know how long it'd take to get down there? - trust me- - i could be dead in an hour. - i'll drive the plane. - drive the plane? - yeah, put extra gain it. - extra gas? i'm sorry casey, but, you're gonna crash that plane. you're gonna crash it. - cross for the villai. - this is not gta 5. this is not gta 5. [casey laughing] - ah, i'll miss you.

growing up sucks. [somber music] [door slamming] [slow piano music] - this is a 60, 64,000 square feet. - well see look, my wife's in centerville now, georgia. they still have a penny's, it's still open.

[slow piano music] they said it, you know, it's gonna close pretty soon, but all of 'em are, but hers is still open. so that tells you where her location is, was really, is really doing very well. ifhis mall closed, i would do something. i mean, that's all i can tell you. i mean, life's too short but i would probably, i could go work at another mall for this, the owner of this mall. he's got, you know, he's got 30 something malls. i'm sure i could be of benefit to him. quiet in here, isn't it?

[thunder rumbling] [keys rattling] - [mike] y'all doing good? - [customer] thank you, mike. - [mike] have a good night. - [customer] you too, hun. - [customer 2] you as well, thank you. - you guys have a good night, be safe. [mop squishing] [wheels rumbling] [broom swishing]

- they told you one of my domino players passed away, didn't they ? you know, the one that had the oxygen? yeah. he got put in the hospital and then, they thought he was doing, you know, they thought he was doing better. passed away. and then they quit coming for about three weeks. and, so we finally got him to start coming back. they just said it wasn't the same, you know, without him playing, but they're doing, they got another player now. so, they're doing good. ♪ yesterday is just a play of shadows ♪ ♪ tomorrow is another house of cards ♪

♪ i can see no way i can recover ♪ ♪ the truth is always there before my eyes ♪ ♪ cuz i can't leave you even though you're gone ♪ ♪ well, i know, i know, i know that i just can't leave you ♪ ♪ those endless nights keep hanging on ♪ - [announcer]: major funding for reel south was provided by: etv endowment, the national endowment for the arts, center for asian-american media, south arts, and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. additional funding for "jasper mall" was provided by: ♪♪

vo: you're watching pbs.

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