Tyson's Corner

I don't go to Tyson's Corner as much as I go to some places, since it takes me a long time to get there, but it is somewhere I go to sometimes. Mom and I have occasionally gone there, too, since she'll then drive us there. There was even one occasion where we went to the movies there with an autistic adult friend. And we got caught in a long line to get out of the parking garage, and a woman came up to our car with angry words; I don't even remember what about anymore. What I do remember was when my mom got angry right back, our friend anxiously urged her to calm down and not yell too much. It was only when the woman went away that she said she'd been afraid she might have had a gun on her.
It was a legitimate fear. We knew that even then. But after yesterday, when a gun was actually pulled and fired during an altercation in the mall...well. Even if it didn't kill anyone this time, it's a harsh reminder. We aren't even in danger only from the more infamous active shooters.
I may or may not go out today. At this point we're all making our compromises with danger simply because the damn pandemic won't end and for the time being most of us aren't really allowed to stay at home all the time anymore anyway. But we've all got an extra reason for staying away from other people in the DC area today.