Your “Real Story” (“Taking a Powder,” 6/29) opens with the premise that vacating Washington for London is preferable to a life chronically violated by the intervention of the FBI, the CIA, and National Security Council. I’m intrigued with what the writer, indigenous to the nation’s capital (holding house parties, bicycling on the Rock Creek Parkway, canoeing on the Potomac River, and contributing to local newspapers), builds from this premise in nine pages of very grandiloquent memories.

More questions are raised by “Taking a Powder” than answered—why a bartender working in the D.C. area would become so deeply involved with underworld activities during the last eight years of the 20th century, then skip town to escape the scrutiny of what the writer alleges to be a “we don’t answer questions—we ask them” government, all within a “Real Story,” certainly piques my curiosity. Due to its eloquent and riveting nature, it would be a mistake to discount the story’s pathos.

The vivid details of “Take a Powder” make for an inspiring and spectacular reading experience, and likewise, Fred Harper’s imaginative illustrations are something else. I expect that this story will invite more than the usual number of reader responses, and it would be great if these responses led to some improvement in its writer’s lifestyle and overall attitude.

Thanks for printing the most well-written and illustrated “Real Story” of the past couple of years!

Alexandria, Va.