DC By the Book

Excerpt: To get to the [Vietnam Veterans Memorial] wall you pass a statue of of three fighting men. Like Cerebus, they guard their dead comrades. Though there are others ways to the wall, if you don't pass by their fierce gaze you are sneaking in.... To my eyes their faze was an accusatory one of equal parts anger, hurt, and disbelief. "You sent us there. This is what happened to us. Did you get what you wanted? Was it worth it?"

Excerpt: We walked across the gardens, past the kiosk and pool towards our cars. In the distance a group carrying placards was marching in a circle. When we got closer, I read the messages: ONCE WAS TOO MUCH, NO MORE VIETNAMS, LEAVE CENTRAL AMERICA NOW, CIA ADVISORS TEACH DEATH. A fifteen-year-old case of paranoia made me visually sweep the area looking for FBI crew-cuts taking pictures, compiling dossiers.

Excerpt: The black wall is something to see. It appears before you, unexpected but no accident.... As we approached the wall I began to read the names of the dead men. We descended below ground and the names began to pile up. Soon I could read only one name on each line of a panel. Then only one name on one line of a panel. It was too much. There were too many names and they multiplied faster than I could count them.

Excerpt: The law offices of Grossbart, Shaftweiler and Nicoletti, PC were in one of the new waterfront restoration complexes that overlook the Potomac, a river so polluted that it's been declared a national historic toxic waste site. I parked my car in the lot a block up from Nate's office and joined the hordes packing the sidewalks. Lunchtime in Georgetown, quite a spectacle. Corporate St. Georges in their hand-tailored pinstripe armor and lances by Gucci, side by side with punksters in Day-Glo mohawks and pushpin earrings. The sidewalk cafes were full of matrons from Bethesda and McLean, dressing up, lunching out, putting a new gilt edge on their boredom.... And nary a black face. This may be "Chocolate City," but the cake still has a white buttercream icing.

Excerpt: I drove back towards Georgetown and parked near a theatre that specialized in film festival series. The films of Australia was the current program.... Road Warrior was the offering.... Two white-knuckled, goggle-eyed hours later I stood.... Walking out of the theatre I couldn't shake the feeling that what I'd seen was a documentary.

Excerpt: Twenty-five years ago when my father first got them, you couldn't give away Redskins tickets. Now the waiting list for them is measured in eons.... Fifty-five thousand screaming fanatics created such an adrenaline contact high that playing at home was worth damn near a touchdown to the Redskins.... The Redskins were eating up the yards and the clock. The ball was on the three yard line and everyone in Washington knew it was going to be Rogers behind the Hogs. Knowing it and stopping it are worlds apart. Rogers took the ball and headed towards Grimm and Jacoby. Between them appeared a hole a yard wide. I leaned forward ready to cheer. Suddenly the picture disappeared.

Excerpt: Malcolm Donnelly checked into the Presidential Arms on 14th Street at 3pm on Friday. He was alone and took a room for the night. He made no long distance calls and did not eat dinner at the hotel. the next morning, at approximately 11am, the maid entered his room and found him sitting the chair next to the night stand. He was quite dead.... Well, Malcolm, here's where it all came to a halt. What happened? You checked in here with a pint of gin, $500 in your wallet, a little bit of poison in your blood and a bellyful of hate. What happened?

Excerpt: I stepped out onto the 14th Street corridor.... The corridor was warming up. The movie houses and bookstores had all plugged in their blinking neon grins. You can tell the players and their games by how they use their eyes. The hookers are trolling for the big trick. Their eyes brighten when a car slows down and then dim with sullen anger as it passes.... Connections here are brief and precise. Girls and boys get into cards, out of cars, up doorways, down stairs, into alleys, on their knees, off their backs trying to make their quotas.