Met a security guard at the old Westgate Mall who told me about the fountain fish

I was poking around the empty food court of Westgate Mall in Springfield about six months ago, and this older security guard named Ray just appeared from a back hall. He didn't yell at me, just started talking. He pointed to the dry fountain in the center and said, 'They left the koi in there when they shut the water off. For a whole week.' He said he and another guard had to scoop them out with a net and take them to a pond at his sister's house. He told me the mall owners cut the power to the pumps on a Friday and didn't tell anyone, so the fish were just stuck in a shrinking puddle over the weekend. That one story made the whole place feel sadder, you know? Has anyone else run into a worker with a story like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

leer123d ago

Man, that hits hard. I had a similar thing happen at a movie theater that was closing down. I got to talking with the guy cleaning out the last popcorn machine, and he told me they were just told to leave, like, overnight. He snuck back in the next day to get a poster for his kid because the boss wouldn't answer his calls. It's those little acts of care, like your guard saving the fish, that stick with you. They show who really valued the place.

robinson.quinn3d ago

That bit about cutting the power on a Friday is the most corporate thing I've ever heard. Of course they'd do it right before the weekend to avoid dealing with the fallout. Just a real classy move all around.