I was leaving the building late Tuesday when a car swerved into the drive from which I was attempting to exit, flew into the upper tier of the parking lot and then stopped directly in front of the fountain that’s directly in front of the building. After a few seconds, the vehicle slowly moved away, turned down the opposite drive, stopped for a few minutes at the end, and then pulled onto Church Street and sped away.

Now throughout the years we’ve had our fair share of folks meeting on our grounds for various and sundry reasons, not all of which are innocent. And this encounter was such that I actually left then came back and circled the building to be certain the mysterious car hadn’t returned.

It wasn’t until the next morning that I began to realize exactly what had happened, but not being as familiar with the online gaming world as I could be (actually, how ‘bout I know absolutely nothing about the online gaming world), I needed to have my suspicions confirmed. Later that day, the secretary did just that.

We have a little digital dude hanging out around our fountain.

Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say that the funeral home in Savannah is a stop in Pokémon Go. For an explanation of what this means, I’ll give you a brief synopsis of the game.

Pokémon Go  is a game that uses the GPS and clock on your phone to populate the world around you with Pokémon. Once you download the free app, you track the little imaginary creatures in the real world, catching them as you can while exploring your surroundings.  There’s a lot more to it than that, but at least now you have the basics.

It sounds great. People, especially kids, are getting out of the house and becoming acquainted with their communities.  Adults are getting to revisit their Pokémon childhoods.  But unfortunately, sometimes these little cloud-based critters show up at some rather inappropriate places . . . like, say Arlington National Cemetery or the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. . . or perhaps the Auschwitz Memorial in Poland.  Somehow, game playing seems a little irreverent while standing at scenes that memorialize great tragedies or those who sacrificed themselves for freedom.  Ok, a lot irreverent—which may be the reason these sites are hoping to have themselves removed from the game.

Other historic sites and facilities are trying to incorporate the game into their structure because they realize that Pokémon Go  is accomplishing something they’ve tried to do for years, sometimes not very successfully—encourage people to visit them. And some folks are actually taking the time to truly explore the site . . . after they catch all the available Pokémon.

All of which allows us to make an observation regarding technology. The world we currently live in is amazing.  We can wirelessly communicate with people around the world.  We can find out almost anything we want to know by simply searching the Internet (as long as we’re very careful about what we believe and verify the truth of our discoveries).  Most of us carry a combination phone/computer/camera around in our pocket unless, of course, we’re asleep.  Then it’s under our pillow or on the bedside table or still clutched in our hand.  That kind of access is very powerful . . . and very addictive.  But there is a time and a place for most everything and perhaps it’s not the best time to catch Pokémon while contemplating the deaths of millions of innocent people.  It’s probably not a good idea to take selfies while visiting a cemetery dedicated to our service men and women or a memorial to those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.  Think about where you are before you pull out your cell phone and indulge.

We don’t mind folks coming to the funeral home to catch Pokémon. As a matter of fact, it’s kinda nice to be included.  Just please remember as you come into the parking lot—or wherever else you may go on your quest—timing is everything.  If people are streaming out of our building while dabbing their eyes with tissues and making their ways to their cars, it’s a pretty good clue that maybe you should come back in a few minutes.  Technology is a wonderful thing as long as it is used with respect—respect for the place where we are and respect for the feelings of those around us.

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