‘Mysterious ways indeed’

September 11. We asked readers for their thoughts and remembrances of 9/11 on its 20th anniversary.

| 10 Sep 2021 | 05:03

A friend from college days worked for a large insurer in lower Manhattan.

Every Tuesday morning at 8:30 he would join his associates for a business breakfast at Windows on the World. Then the unthinkable happened and the World Trade Center was destroyed. His wife back home in Jersey was frantic.

Phone service was out, both cellular and landline. She grew more desperate with each passing hour. At 8:30 that evening her doorbell rang. Fearing the worst she opened the door to find her husband, covered in dust, standing before her. The breakfast meeting had been canceled.

Mysterious ways indeed.

Editor’s note: James Heckel is a Sparta, N.J., resident.