On the morning of September 11, 2001, Michael Weinberg was supposed to be thinking about golf.
The 34-year-old New York City firefighter was off duty that morning and was at Forest Park Golf Course in Queens, waiting for his tee time. For a few moments, it was an ordinary morning — until news spread through the clubhouse that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
For Weinberg, the news was immediately personal.
His sister, Patricia, worked for Morgan Stanley on the 72nd floor of the South Tower.
He didn’t know whether she had escaped.
He didn’t wait to find out.
Weinberg left the golf course and rushed toward the city. According to accounts of that morning, he made his way back to his firehouse, Ladder 24/Engine 1, where his instincts as a firefighter took over.
