Providence: March 1993 and November 2008

As I listen to the various stories coming out of Mumbai after the siege, it is clear that luck always plays a big role in life but this comes out so acutely when there is a hair-trigger difference between the couple who were gunned down for coming out to the window to see what was going on and the patient in Cama Hospital who was taken in as a tour guide by the terrorists and told a policeman in Marathi that the kooks were behind him and found himself in the midst of a gun battle -- and survived!

It brings back painful memories for me from March 12th 1993. There are a dozen what ifs that go through my mind as I think about my father. What if I had actually had him visit me in January as we had talked instead of suggesting that December would be better? What if he had not pre-poned his meeting from 4 PM to 2 PM? What if he had hesitated after hearing about the stock market explosion? What if he had walked to his meeting as he had for the past few weeks instead of taking a cab? What if he had gone to the restroom instead of waiting for the meeting to begin as one of his colleagues who survived had? What if...

These questions race through your mind as you hear of the stories of miraculous or providential survivals in the press. Why did my father have to die when all of these people survived? The answer, my friend is known to someone other than me. I still wonder to this day. Especially when my little son tells me that it is "sad that he will never see on of his grandparents".