In Chapter 38 of The Bubble Gum Thief, Dagny Gray wakes up in the field at the Del Ray YMCA in Alexandria. This is the same ball field where a mad man fired upon Congressmen, staffers, and officers today. My girlfriend (now wife) and I used to go the that Y, and we crossed through these fields regularly. She lived two blocks from the YMCA. I gave Dagny a home just down the street because I knew and loved the neighborhood. You won’t find any other neighborhood this unbelievably quaint so close to D.C.–it has a real small town feel, even though it’s very close to the Metro and a stone’s throw from Old Town.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of today’s attack, and the neighborhood that had to witness it.