Yep, I’m playing Pokémon GO. It is neat. It is a way to connect to my nephews and pass a little time. I knew I was going to be spending some time with my nephews this weekend so I installed the app and took a walk to my neighborhood park which has two Poké-Stops. There were three kids sitting at a picnic table who immediately looked up and said, “We aren’t going to rob you.”
I don’t want to sound disparaging but the kids looked like they would get winded just get up. I wasn’t worried. Anyway, one of the kids motioned with his hand to join them so I did. They had put a “lure” on the spots so they could attract more Pokémon and were not surprised to see other people arrive. I was the only person to walk up but several cars pulled up, idled a while and then drove away.
We started to talk. The three kids were recent high-school graduates all wasting away their summers before going off to college. I have been living in the area for only a couple years but they grew up here. I told them about how I was blown away by the different “landmarks” that popped up in the app. I am baffled at some of the things that come up. There is a huge statue in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea how that ended up as a place in the game. They then went on to tell me different restaurants and parks that were in my area that were hard to find but places I had to try. One restaurant in particular that has limited hours, open for only breakfast and lunch, and made everything from scratch. They refuse to put up a webpage or any online presence so either you know about it or you don’t. They also told me about this really cool park that is all made from railroad-ties and tires.
We all lament that in the old days you knew your neighbors but then we don’t do anything to change the fact that we don’t anymore. Everyone is busy and it is hard to reach out sometimes. Well now I know at least three kids in my neighborhood, not well, but I can at least smile and wave hi.