“I do not miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from things or people or moments that hurt, but I took joy in the things that made me happy.”― Neil Gaiman.

R I D E R S  A R E  S C A R C E  T H E S E  D A Y S

What do you do when a pandemic takes control of an economy and forces you as a sole proprietor to make the best of things and hope that the public will return?

The owner of this family ride arcade in West Edmonton Mall ( Peter shown in the photo) told me recently that although he has two locations in the mall ( west and east ends) the amount of traffic using his rides ( both children and adults) has dwindled to almost nothing.

In the pre COVID days parents and children would flock to his electric rides and explore the nearby area of the arcade’s location. Parents visited the malls many shops and treated their children and themselves to riding his animated characters.

Shop owners and folks renting space on the floor are forced to remain open despite the lower number of customers visiting their businesses.

As the photos indicate this arcade owner continues to service his animals and remains optimistic.

“Saturdays and holidays are the days when the number of customers increases a little” he said.

Hopefully the number of folks visiting his site will increase in the coming months.