After spending the day on campus, Bob and I stopped at Stewart's - our much-appreciated local convenience store - on Main Street in Castleton. There were cops everywhere, an ambulance, and several television trucks. It turns out that a man was hit and killed by a train. He was the same age as Bob. Such tragedies happen every year or so, as Amtrak runs next to the Hudson River, only yards from buildings on Main Street, and when it goes through Castleton, it is at speeds of about 100 miles per hour, and more.

I am a big supporter of train travel, and so I rarely criticise the trains that whip through the village, but while following the story, I have learned that of the communities near the Hudson between Albany and New York City, Castleton is the closest to the tracks. In Westchester County, the train slows to 60 mph when it cruises through Croton.

PS Today is my mother's birthday; happy birthday Ma!