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Posted: 4:55 PM- Trolley Square is part of our collective psyche.

And our psyche is wounded.

For my grandpa, the block was the stopping and starting point for the trolley cars he rode to get to West High School every day. On weekends, my college roommates craved a post-movie plate of nachos and a beer at The Pub. My wedding ring came in a black velvet box from a long-gone jeweler's shop. The strange tiled lobby at the south entrance turned into a cramped country dance floor every Thursday night for my stepson.

But for the toddlers eating at the Spaghetti Factory on Monday night, the confusing meandering hallways and glass-walled shops probably will always conjur stomach-lurching terror.

Until last night, our memories were fond. The mission-style brick barns were a comforting reminder of Salt Lake City's past, a physical affirmation that not everything old is torn down. At times, the halls were largly empty, customers sparse. Other shopping centers were more popular, trendier. But the place - a mall of all things - drew us in.

Now, the problem is going back there.

When 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic stalked past Williams-Sonoma and Bath & Body Works, picking off shoppers with a 12-gauge shotgun as he went, he simultaneously obliterated Utahns' that-could-never-happen-here delusions. The violence we like to believe only plagues places like Tacoma and Columbine settled in Salt Lake City.

Mayor Rocky Anderson reminded Utahns "this is a safe place."

"This is as tough as it gets in any community," he said at a Tuesday afternoon press conference. But "this was a rare incident, the kind of thing we're not used to in this community. It was an isolated incident."

Others tried to capitalize on the moment. In a fit of overreaction, Utah lawmakers cancelled their annual legislative-executive basketball grudge match. Overreaching just a bit, Utah gun-rights advocates speculated that there were "numerous opportunities" for a concealed weapon carrier to "shoot this guy." And in a particularly unsettling exploitation of the tragedy, the Utah Consortium of Minority Groups connected Talovic's rampage to other Utah refugees' shooting sprees and pointed the finger at the state for not providing more funding for counseling and other services.

In my mind, Valley Mental Health Director Debra Falvo struck the right tone as she reminded us Talovic has a horrified family too, two Bosnian immigrant parents who fled their war-torn country and settled in Utah in the hope of giving their children a peaceful life. It wasn't to be.

"There is a family out there that also will need the support of the community," Falvo said, choking up.

On the day after, Trolley's shop owners were thinking about taking care of their traumatized employees, throwing out spoiled food, repairing doors kicked in by the SWAT team and replacing shattered glass.

"It's really hard to know when we will reopen," said Scott Hale, one of the partners who owns and manages the Desert Edge Brewery at The Pub. "When is an appropriate time to reopen?"

Someday soon, the shops will reopen. The mall's new owners already planned to rip out the wrought-iron railings and build a central atrium. Trolley won't look the same.

Eventually, we might drive by without thinking about Monday's horror. And a little while later, we'll stop by The Pub for a turkey-and-avocado sandwich on sourdough or a three-pasta combo at the Spaghetti Factory. And maybe life in Utah will get back to normal.

Wally Wright thinks so. The 72-year-old developer of Trolley Square is hopeful. "It's supposed to be a place of delight and fun - always has been," he said. "I'm sure it will be again." walsh@sltrib.com" Target="_BLANK">walsh@sltrib.com