In the latest chapter in the decline and fall of Washinton'sMetro subway system, the red line was running trains in both directions on a single track in order to perform maintenance on the line. The ride home was three times as long as usual, in hot, overcrowded subway car. Fortunately, I was in good company. I played over a chess game with Irving Chernev, and I let Ibn Batuta regale me with stories of his adventures in the courts of the 14th century Indian Moguls. (Some of which, such as accounts of Mongol conquest, dynastic murders, and wife burning, were admittedly rather grim.)