This morning, when I heard about a couple horrific car crashes south of here, I said my usual semi-prayer: please, don't let any of the students have been involved.

Well, today, there was.

One of the young men who recently graduated from my department - an excellent student, someone who had served as a tutor, and who was, as his former major prof described him in her e-mail, "an all around nice guy," was one of the ones killed. It was a sort of freak accident related to icy roads.

The harder part is his origin is in Pakistan and his closest relatives are in New York state. One of the regional Islamic groups is helping to get his remains (I hate to write that) returned to Pakistan so he can have a proper burial.

It's sad. He was someone with a lot of promise - I think he was going to pharmacy school if I remember correctly. And he was young - only 24. And he WAS a "nice guy."

if you have kids - if you are near to your parents or siblings - if you have a spouse - go home and hug them. Life is so short and the way it ends sometimes is so random. It's both sad and scary.