Sister, Daughter, Ducky and I spent yesterday afternoon at the Atlantic Center. We were mostly at Target of course, which is its own vortex, its own reality, its own zone of consciousness.

I mostly hate malls but they are such a novelty in New York. And it’s easy to get out of them…you just walk out. Easy escape.

This mall, Ratner’s mall, isn’t too oppressive. It would be a total nothing, as far as I’m concerned, without the Target. But it does have the Guitar Center, Payless, Children’s Place, ah, that’s pretty much it. And the Chucky Cheese, which looms on the top floor is probably one of the weirdest, scariest, noisiest children’s "attractions" I’ve ever seen.

But Target is pretty fun for a limited amount of time. If you stay to long you start hallucinating: Red spirals, red spirals, red spirals.

No surprise, my daughter loves to buy her clothing there. It’s so well priced: she gets to be the fashionable princess she wants to be and I don’t have to spend too much money. Though all those $7.99 items do add up and it’s always a shock when I see the total at the cash register.

YOWZA. How did we spend….?

We actually got lattes at the Starbucks near the check-out and sat in the seating area for an hour or so. I discoved that there’s great view from that side of Target of the Atlantic Yards. It’s a really interesting spot to contemplate the future of Brooklyn.

Walking back to the slope via FIfth Avenue, I was surpised by how many new shops have gone in from Flatbush to Sterling. It happened so quickly. There’s a bunch of boutiques, Lulu’s, Area (a clothing store for kids), that gorgeous Indian clothing store, Pawtisserie (bakery for dogs!?), SIP ( a new wine shop), Miriam (a middle eastern restaurant)…

The owner of Lulu’s said that her stretch of Fifth Avenue near Flatbush is fantastic for business. She said the people come there from Ft. Greene, Prospect Heights, the Heights, Cobble HIll, Smith Street. Her old location on Fifth near 3rd Street was good but very local. There were few walk-ins and not much weekday traffic. She said no one who lives above 7th Avenue ever comes to Fifth Avenue.  I wonder if she’s right about that.

When we got home, Son said that he was hanging out at the Atlantic Center, which really surprised me. WHAT WERE YOU DOING THERE? He didn’t say. I DIDN’T BRING HIM UP IN PARK SLOPE TO BE A MALL RAT!

But then again: What the hell were we doing at Target all afternoon?