I’ve had a couple of stories come out recently that I’m super happy about: Telltale Signs of Disaster in Booth and Ten Ideas for Small Talk Upon Re-entering the Dating Scene in Monkeybicycle. I’m excited to see both of these stories appear in such fantastic journals.

But.

I’ve been in Orlando the past week, and that has overshadowed everything else. I couldn’t be sadder for, and prouder of, my hometown. Orlando is known for being a place of many theme parks, and while I’ve certainly gotten in my fair share of digs about the weirdness and superficiality of growing up under Disney’s shadow, I’ve always been more interested in writing about the real people of this area. Simply, I love it here. And as a queer person, as a member of the LGBT community, I feel wrecked over the Pulse shooting. So here, too, are some images of O-town in the wake of this horrendous violence. It’s always been The City Beautiful, and the way the people here have come together to support queer people of color, and latinx people specifically, has made it all the more beautiful to me.