Mayor Rob Marlowe
If you haven’t had enough reason to head downtown, let me tell you about Pokemon Go. Since the game was released just over a week ago, there have been hundreds of people crawling all over Sims Park and around the downtown.
Pokemon Go is a phone app that you use to locate and capture virtual monsters in the real world. I loaded it onto my phone and captured one monster in the street outside my home, just to be able to say I’d tried it.
The real fun is watching hundreds of zombies walking around town, staring at their phones. Quite a few of the Pokemon Go players appear to be oblivious to their surroundings. We keep waiting for someone to walk into the lake or trip over the seawall and fall into the river.
This is not as far fetched as it might seem. There were news reports this past week of two guys in California who actually walked off a cliff while playing. Both of them apparently survived their falls. A wanted criminal walked right up to a police station while playing. The officers inside were more than happy to invite him to come inside.
Given how distracted the players are, it is important for the rest of us to pay attention and make sure we’ve got an eye on any nearby players. I’ve come across players at traffic lights, unsure as to whether they might step out into traffic without looking. I had one player walk behind me as I was backing out of a parking space at City Hall. Fortunately, I saw him in the rear view camera.
There are plenty of other reasons to come downtown. Tonight’s family movie in the park is Zootopia. The movie is free and starts at 8:30pm. Be sure to bring a lawn chair or blanket. Water and soft drinks will be available for purchase or you can bring your own. In any event, be sure to stay hydrated. The heat index has been in triple digits every day and it is still going to be warm after the sun sets tonight.
The Summer Sunset Concert Series returns next Saturday, July 23rd with the Coastal Acoustic Barefoot Music band playing at 7:30pm. The first two concerts in the series have been excellent. You definitely need to put the next one on your calendar.
I’m looking forward to seeing you downtown!
Rob Marlowe, Mayor