Virginia Tech massacre

I picked up a lady at a condominium complex not far from downtown. As I loaded her suitcase into the trunk I asked where she was going, and it was to the airport. I asked where she was flying to, just to make small talk. Virginia. I asked if she lived in Blacksburg, by chance, and she doesn't.

However, she said her son lost a close friend in the shooting and he was distraught. She tried to go back Monday night, but her son asked her not to. He wanted to be with his friends. I told her I was sorry, then clamped my mouth shut for the rest of the ride. The prospect for pleasant chit-chat was gone.