With the anniversary of 9/11 fast approaching I thought I should relate one of the few spooky moments I have experienced in my life.
About 15 years before that fateful day, I met some visiting officers of the New York Fire Department at County Hall in London. During the meeting one of the officers ask for my home address which I duly gave him. About a month later, a postal package arrived at my home from the NYFD which contained a number of Public Relations items, These included shoulder flash badges, stickers etc all with the NYFD logo on them. One of the items was a car key ring with a leather tag which had a fob of the NYFD attached to it.
I used this car key ring every day and although it became a bit dog eared and battle scarred over the years it was something I was proud of and really treasured. On 11th September 2001 I parked my car at the railway station as usual on my journey to work and as I removed the key from the ignition, the key fob with the NYFD logo fell off. Later in the day I was watching a live broadcast in the Control Room of the London Fire Brigade of a fire from a plane crash in one of the twin towers and saw the second fatal plane crash into the other twin tower. Like all my colleagues around me I sat spellbound watching the unfolding events with a feeling of impotent helplessness, wanting to help in some way but unable to. As the first of the twin towers collapsed the memory of my broken key fob earlier in the day flashed across my mind and for one of the few times in my life I suddenly felt nauseous.
That memory of the broken key fob has never left me. I am not one for believing in spooks, apparitions or that type of thing but sometimes I wonder if the hand of fate did not pass over me in a tiny way on that day.
Filed under: Spooky Moments | Tagged: 9/11, NYFD, Spooky |
Mick's Muses's 
Hi Mick
Just came across your Micks Muse’s on the Newham web site
T have got to say that I enjoyed all your stories the
Firefightinf, Amusing and the Tragic. So much that I have printed a copy of each one so that I can send them to my neice
back in home to read and enjoy.
She don’t have a computer.
I was born and lived in Old Canning Town from 1925 till 1941
had to move due to the war went to Hammersmith till moving to Canada.
All the best to you and please post more stories.
George
George,
Many thanks for your kind comments. It’s gratifying to receive feedback like yours. At least I know my Muses are well appreciated. The Old Canning Town that you knew has undergone a lot of change but then so has everywhere. The old saying that nothing last forever is certainly true.
It is possible to subscibe to my Muses by entering you email address at the bottom of the left column. The WordPress system will then email you automatically advising you of any updates to my site.
Mick