"I came back stunned. Washington has won. And it has won big."

His column for Thursday's print edition is a love letter to what the area around Nats Park has become in the eight-plus years since the ballpark opened.

"Economically, aesthetically and in quality of city life, the transformation of Southeast, which moved at a crawl during the Great Recession and often slipped from the public consciousness, has fulfilled and in some ways surpassed expectations. In fact, I'm probably a couple of years late to the party.

"But unless you live within walking or bicycling distance of Nationals Park, even if you go to Nationals games, there's an excellent chance that, like me, most of the success story is still a mystery to you."

I could keep quoting, but just give it a read, and tell me what you think.

And thanks for the shout-out, Tom! (Plus, everyone please know that "ridiculous" quote was said with love, of course.)