Public defy frowny-faced journalists and buy clothing, anyway!

My daughter and her friend were at the Chandler mall -- sorry, the "Chandler Fashion Center"-- yesterday, and they said that all the stores were crowded, with lines at all the cash registers.

When my husband said, "They must be having really big sales," my daughter said that there really weren't any deep discounts. The best sale was "save ten dollars for every thirty you spend" at American Eagle. People were buying anyway.

To those who live in yucky climates: It was a totally beautiful day here in Arizona, so no one was in the mall because they couldn't be outside.

Obviously my daughter and her friend didn't visit every store in the mall. For example, they didn't check out Ann Taylor or J. Jill. But they were in every clothing store that appeals to teens and young women (more than half of the stores at the mall!) Claire's, Limited II/Justice (they appear to have merged,) the Apple store, Build-A-Bear workshop and Nordstrom's.

I think the public has decided that they are sorry that they listened to all gloom-and-doom journalists and didn't have more lavish Christmases and they are making up for it now.

(Each year that the papers report bad holiday retail sales, I scream at the newsprint -- like it does any good -- "You morons! Everyone I know starts holiday shopping in freaking JULY! We pick up things all year round, often through the magic of the Internet. How the heck do YOU know what's getting socked away for December? If the stores didn't put up their Christmas trees right after freaking LABOR DAY, maybe they would know how many "holiday sales" they really have!")

The restaurants were busy, too. I guess someone desperate for a negative headline could make something out of this: We went to Outback at 6pm, thinking there would be a forty-minute line, but there was only a thirty-minute line. "OUTBACK GOING UNDER!!!!!"