Pokemon craze hits streets a-running, just don’t stumble with eyes turned downward

Go, go, go Gadget. Play Pokemon Go. Just be careful where.
There was a late-night glowing electrical sign sponsored by state transportation officials and erected on Interstate 94, that implored drivers to be cautious of things that go beyond even texting. It read: “You can watch Pokemon later.” And even the maker of the game has issued a similar caution, which carries over to those who need to gaze ahead of them, rather then just down, while strolling down the street with a device: “Be careful out there.”
That first night, when there were Pokemon players out and about just before bar time, some patrons took note of it but weren’t too fond of the concept. Then bartender Matt said he’d just seen a vehicle stopped in the middle of Second Street, with the driver looking down at her game piece, not the road.
The walk-the-street craze may just be a passing-by fancy. However, it has helped produce various references on signs for local venues, such as one saying a main character visits here and drinks Fireball, and even found a patron quoting one of them in conversation as she sipped her drink.
There was a duo at one of those venues who attracted attention as possible game-players, but who it turned out actually were watching and commenting on who was winning the polka dot jersey given to those with cycle racing success. They responded to the questions that were immediately raised by saying, “I don’t play Pokemon.” A woman who was one barstool away while they all were at Emma’s in River Falls noted that they had hand-held units only inches from their faces, and she then mimicked them. She and the person one more barstool over said that they were from more of the Mario Bros. generation.
Another sign, outside of Kozy Korner in North Hudson, joked that there was a Pokemon destination to be found inside their dishwasher, and that by the way, you might want to (get a job there) and take a turn with the dishes, since there would be great fringe benefits of the Pokemon style, such as collecting. One also wonders if this new craze is why so many more colored chalk renderings are being seen on area sidewalks. One was actually inside Dick’s Bar and Grill, but even though school is out, there were messages on the floor by the dart boards that had a series of edgy messages representing, in part, the Battle of the Sexes, not of the borders.
All of this also makes me recall my days with the Hudson Star-Observer, when there were reports of some teens out well past curfew who were playing a light-saber-wielding game in a local park that dead-set in the middle of town. After a few of my late-night typing binges were completed, I tried to find them for a photo, but had no success.
— With the local elections here, there have been signs all over touting a candidate named “Burger” for district attorney. I personally would like to invoke a different Burger that just got the elected, that being the annual best hamburger contest winner from a series of Hudson bar and grills, this time around Stone Tap, who tapped into a partially depleted lineup — some regular contest participants elected not to vie for the crown. The first-referenced Burger started out years back by working at Dick’s Bar and Grill, one would presume sometimes aiding them with their Tuesday night burger special, which is on tap again right before the polls close.