In parts of Newport-Mesa, life goes on

Steve Smith, Special to the Daily Pilot

The news of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in New York City and

Washington, D.C., was not enough to stop most people from continuing with

their lives here. Newport-Mesa schools remained in session, the freeways

were kept open, and at South Coast Plaza people shopped even though most

of the stores inside the mall were closed.

Debra Gunn-Downing, South Coast Plaza’s executive director of

marketing, said the mall’s officials quickly got in touch with police and

firefighters.

“We’re on the high alert, which is our disaster-preparedness alert,”

she said. “We’ve been in touch with both the police and fire departments

to dialogue with them, and at this time we have no reason to believe we

should close.’

Merchants, however, had other ideas.

Mall management gave each merchant the option of closing for the day,

and store after store -- from Rand-McNally to Godiva chocolates -- posted

notices on their doors stating that they would be closed until further

notice. And although there was no common thread for the closings, many of

the shuttered stores were links in chains with headquarters in New York.

Of the five department stores that ring the mall, only Saks Fifth

Avenue chose to close.

Levi Myers, an employee at Armani Exchange, one of the few stores that

was open, said the morning’s events had been shocking.

“I was shaking when I first heard the news,” Myers said. “I have a

friend who is an American Airlines flight attendant who would have been

flying but she is injured. I’ve been shaking all morning.”

Myers then took a look around and sighed. “I can’t believe anyone is

shopping.”

For Tyler Ormiston of Costa Mesa, a trip to the mall was an effort to

sort out his thoughts.

“I was supposed to be working in an office building across the street,

but they closed it,” Ormiston said. “I don’t want to have to see this

stuff on TV, so I came in just to kill a little time.”

Many of the shoppers at the mall were from out of town and had no idea

when they could return home or where they could go.

Michelle Thompson and Beau Baughman, both of Seattle, had other plans

in mind for the day.

“We were supposed to go to Disneyland, but they closed it. And since

we were going to come here anyway, we decided to do it today,” Thompson

said.

But upon finding so many mall stores closed, Thompson and Baughman had

to find yet another place to go.

“We’ll probably go to the beach,” Baughman said.

What Thompson and Baughman found was a mall with about 75% of the

stores closed and what seemed to be as many security guards and police on

patrol as there were shoppers.

The tight security was also a tight secret. When she was asked what

additional safety steps the mall was taking, Gunn-Downing refused to

comment.

Teenagers Lauren Hughes and Joanna Dixon were visiting from East

Yorkshire, England.

“When we heard the news, it was scary . . . horrible,” Hughes said.

“Like something out of a movie,” Dixon said.

Like Thompson and Baughman, the teenagers don’t know when they will be

able to return home.

One of the few options for South Coast Plaza visitors was a meal at

the Rainforest Cafe. At a time when the restaurant should have been close

to full, it was nearly empty.

“We have a party of two inside,” hostess Nicole Lamothe said.

“Usually, there are lots of people going up and down the escalators and

waiting to be seated in the restaurant.”

Lamothe made her feelings clear.

“I can’t believe we’re open,” she said. “This is ludicrous.”

But for many people, going to the mall is nothing extraordinary on

this day of grief.

Newport Beach resident Rachael Vandalen visited South Coast Plaza for

practical reasons.

“I just got out of school, and I need some clothes,” she said.