The Coronavirus Pandemic has caused much disruption in Northern Colorado as everywhere. With layoffs and furloughs everywhere, not only are people finding themselves unemployed, our more skilled workers are also faced with the following dilemma regarding their skills: if you don’t use it, you lose it. But not so with one Northern Colorado town…
At his upscale home near the Ptarmigan golf course, Deputy-Assistant-Vice-President for City Planning and Management for the town of Windsor, Mohammed Smith, bides his time. Speaking from his patio couch, Mr. Smith granted your reporter, Ludwig Schnee an interview. “Truth is, there just isn’t much we can do right now in the real world.” He went on, “But we can’t just let ourselves get soft. We have vital skills that we can’t let go by the wayside. We gotta practice. That’s why I play SimCity.” The town of Windsor employee referred to the 1989 computer game made for the Commodore 66. He went on, “It’s EXACTLY the same thing as my actual job. It involves zoning, taxation, managing a city within a budget, electric grids, roads, rail lines, policing, crime, housing… and the occasional disaster! I’m telling you, it’s just like managing a real city… and I can do that from the comfort of my own couch!”
Disturbed by the flippant overlooking of a critical factor, your reported inquired about the most critical thing of all in managing a city: the human factor- citizens, city councils, county commissioners, cops, workers, et al…
“Naaah! No problem there. If SimCity doesn’t have that problem factored in, then reality won’t either. Simple as that.” He changed the subject, “It’s too bad I can’t get paid to play this game… err… keep my skills honed during this pandemic, but maybe the city might come up with some Donald Trump dough for me… and maybe my family too.”
