The old Sears guy in Tucson warned me about those anchor bolts in dead malls

Back when I started poking around abandoned malls, an old security guard at the Tucson Mall told me not to trust the anchor bolts holding up those big decorative columns near the escalators. He said they rust from the inside out and will snap if you lean on them too hard. I laughed it off until I was exploring the old Silver City Mall in New Mexico last winter. I put my hand on one of those columns to steady myself while taking a photo, and the whole thing shifted about three inches. I got out of there fast and thanked that old guy in my head. Now I always carry a small flashlight and check for rust stains before I touch anything structural. Anyone else get warnings from random people that turned out to save your skin?

2 comments

2 Comments

foster.dylan5d ago

And isn't that just how it always works out? You get some random piece of advice from a stranger and blow it off, then six months later it's the only thing standing between you and a trip to the ER.

mark_nguyen955d ago

Totally feels like one of those things where random advice from strangers actually has more weight than we give it credit for, like how my grandpa told me to never trust a handrail that wobbles and now I test every single one before I lean on it.