Pokemon Go for Senior Dummies

A couple of weeks ago my son and his wife took me for a walk after dinner at their cute brownstone style apartment.  

During that walk they introduced me to Pokemon  Go. 

The very next week they went to NYC for his birthday. Here he is biking in Central Park. I'm pretty sure he picked up a few Pokemon too.  Did you see the You Tube video of the crowds rushing into Central Park  when a moderately rare Pokemon was spotted?  (Google Central Park Pokemon  and you can see it too!!)

The next time they came to my house they told me it was a poke stop!! 

See! 

The next day this car parked for a half hour loading up on poke balls.  

Now I was interested ... Last week I got my friend Ginny to help me down load the game ...  I've never played a video game so the learning curve was slow. 

But when Mr P and I went to the Finnish consulate in Los Angeles to get our Visas, that week (did I mention we will be leaving for a mission for our church this fall?  We'll be working with Church members in Finland!)

Across the street from the Consolate was this building, when I spotted the metal dandelion fluff statue, I said to myself "I bet that's a poke stop"!  

So I pulled out my phone and Voila!! 

Next we had lunch at a place with this mural. As it turns out ...

It was also a Poke Stop.  Do you see the hearts?  I had to google them to find out that meant someone had set off a lure module which attracts more than the normal scantily occurring Pokemon. 

It was kind of fun throwing poke balls at Mr P and collecting critters too!! It made for a fun lunch!! 

I later learned that eateries across the country are buying lures for a dollar each and then the lure not only brings in Pokemon it brings in lunch eating custmers too. 

The next day when I went out for my morning constitutional, Ginny brought her Pokemon Go playing grands .. We walked twice as far as we normally do! 

Then Sunday night when I went to the concert in the park I noticed that two of he poke stops there were also spouting hearts.  

Concert going players set off the lures and then sat and visited with friends, reloading their stock of poke balls and catching Pokemon all while listening to the band play!  Now that's multitasking. 

After the concert we ran into several friends who were also playing, like my friend Joe!! He gave me some tips for catching water Pokemon, which I'm sadly short on. 

Then yesterday, after my Doctor appointment, I caught a pikachu in the parking lot of Lil' Ceasars.   Yeah!! 

Now I'd like to share the benefits of playing Pokemon ...

1. You will walk more often and further ...

2. You'll have the fun of collecting, where finding a sought after item releases endorphins, making you feel good. 

3. This  collecting will require no extra storage space, nor will you need to dust it. 

4.  You will learn more about how the computer,  that is your phone,  works. 

5. You'll meet new and interesting people that you wouldn't have had anything to say to in the past. 

6. Your brain will grow as it accommodates this new learning, possibly staving off Alzheimer's like puzzles do. 

7.  Your grand children will think you're cool. 

8. You're new entertainment is free! 

9. Your dog  will get walked much more often. 

10. You will connect again with the beauty of nature. 

11. You'll have a chance to see many historical plaques and will have the opportunity to better understand history.  (These plaques are almost always poke stops, where you'll be getting your Pokemon go supplies.)

Well if I've convinced you to give it a try, have fun!!  Gotta go, I'm off work shortly and will go home the long way, stopping by a local pond in hopes of finding some of those elusive water Pokemon!!