Antics with Ashley | Graphic by Monica Brutto | The Wright State Guardian
My grandma was a fierce woman. I am sure that if you asked my mom, she would have a million stories about how my grandma was as a mom. She was such a strong-willed woman that she fought until the minute she took her last breath last August. As a grandmother, she was soft, loving and full of life. There were times she had no clue what we were even talking about or what we were doing, but she would still be there with a smile and an “I love you.” There are many stories I could give in my 20 years of knowing my grandma, but my favorite story about her was the first time that she went into Hot Topic.
Picture it…
Hot Topic | Photo by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
Picture it: August 2013. Little Ashley is in the throes of her weeaboo and emo phase. My sister had her birthday on Aug. 9, and my grandma gave her money to buy some items at the mall. She went to Hot Topic. My birthday was on Aug. 19, and I wanted to go to the mystical mall at Fairfield Commons too because at that point, I had only ever been there three times in my life. I also wanted to do whatever my sister did.
Sure, Springfield had a mall, but the Upper Valley Mall was essentially a ghost town, and this was a cool, shiny mall that I had only been to a few times. Mom usually said it was too far away, so it became a special occasion activity.
At the time, I remember thinking, “When I grow up, I’m going to move closer to the mall” (oh, how irony works).
So sure enough, Aug. 19 rolled around and all five of us—my mom, Julia, Patrick, Grandma and I—hopped in our small silver car and set forth to the promised land of bad body image issues and anime merchandise.
There is one thing that is very important to this story. My grandma was a God-fearing Christian woman. She would try to go to church every Sunday, and when she could not, she would wake up bright and early with a fresh cup of Pepsi (with extra ice, of course) and watch her TV preachers. She was also bound to a wheelchair later in life.
With that being said, she had heard of Hot Topic, as it was three of her granddaughters’ favorite places to shop. Whenever Grandma would visit the mall with us, she would stay outside of the Hot Topic. We would walk back to the opening and show off what we might purchase, and she would give her approval or criticism. To my knowledge, however, she never ventured inside the store. She would say the store was cramped and loud, and she would have more enjoyment out there and getting a mini fashion show.
So imagine on that fateful day, my mom goes to park my grandma in her usual spot.
“Actually Mindy, I think I’ll go in with you guys,” Grandma said.
My mom asked if she was sure, and my grandma confirmed.
“I’m buying her clothes. I want to help her pick them out and see if they fit. Besides, I'm curious,” Grandma said.
So in went my God-fearing granny. We were slightly afraid of what she would think of the actual inside of the store, and to say she was flabbergasted was an understatement. I think it took her a second to get accustomed to her surroundings, but after that, she fully enjoyed the experience to say the least.
Hot Topic stores were notoriously dark and cramped, but sure enough, my grandma pushed herself throughout the store to follow me around to look. I remember there being a few times that my mom had to step in and redirect her or temporarily push a display a little for her to get through (she would put it right back), but she followed. She went through with us and helped pick out some items.
I would point out merchandise from my favorite shows, then I would have to explain the shows to her again. Then, depending on the show, I would probably hear an “I don't know if I like that very much.” But she was still there, listening and attentive with a smile on her face.
“All right, I think it’s time we get out of here. I can’t move around in here well enough,” Grandma said as we checked out.
I remember afterward we went to the food court for lunch. She was happy that she got to go in and was talking with all of us about how the store had a lot of things she did not understand or agree with, but she enjoyed herself.
We went up to get utensils after putting down our food. Grandma was left at the table for a split second to guard the food and purses. I remember being the first one to come back to the table and there she was, praying to God, thanking Him for letting her be able to make it through Hot Topic to be with her granddaughter on her birthday.
At the time, I thought it was a little funny. To see my poor, wheelchair-bound grandma praying to God, thanking Him for escaping that store of satan. Since I have grown up, I realized that it was a thankful prayer. I am sure there was relief in there—this is my grandma we are talking about, after all—but it was gratitude. She was able to come in with us.
That day she had bought me a musical not-50s style dress with matching music-themed hair clips. She also got me a few of those cheap pins at the front that used to be 50 cents that were either really cool and from your favorite show or said something like “Come at me bro” or “SWAG,” and we swore up and down that it was cool, but now that we are all adults, we can agree we all looked like dorks with those on.
Afterwards, she went into more stores with us that she would not normally go into. It was not until we hit Spencer’s that she reached her limit for the day.
My grandma was always like that. She was the least judgemental person I know. Whenever I get sad, I think of this story, and it reminds me how much she loves me. I will always remember the time my grandma went into a Hot Topic with me.
