On this fateful date in 2001, I woke up in a 22-story Marriott hotel right between the twin towers in NY. I had planned to linger till around 10 a.m. But a last-minute meeting made me leave at 8:15, just 30 minutes before the first plane struck. The hotel was destroyed. I was saved. But we can never forget those who perished and the heroic first responders who saved other lives.