Saturday, May 16, 2026

Sightseeing Philadelphia

Start at the Paramount Hotel.

Walk about 10 minutes to the underground shopping district, near the train station.

Browse the shops - many stalls are closed this early in the morning, as are the midway games and arcade machines.

Exit the mall and decide to head back to the hotel.

Readjust my trenchcoat awkwardly and realize I lost my backpack.

Notice a man in a khaki coat awkwardly adjusting a suspicious bulge; underneath is my black backpack.

Strip him of my backpack after spying my black wallet, cash and ID within the folds his coat.

Yell and accuse him of stealing my belongings, threatening to call security and waving my ID around.

Confidently storming back through the mall, stopping to play a security-monitored Simon-says videogame where I hold my ID up to the camera.

The thief fails the game and sits down.

Further on down the mall the shops are opening up.

A VR classroom dodgeball game catches my eye.