Destiny or Luck?

Destiny or luck, is there a difference between the two?  Some will argue destiny is a pre-determined outcome that can't be altered. While others counter that destiny is influenced by the sum of decisions and actions taken along one's path.

So was it luck or destiny on the morning of September 11, 2001, when I decided to detour and stop at the Kristy Kreme donut shop that was located on the ground floor of the 5 World Trade Center building, just steps away from the Twin Towers.  If you are at all familiar with the Manhattan downtown financial district, you will recall the Krispy Kreme shop at 5 WTC as a very popular morning stop for many.  I mean they had a motorized conveyor belt gadget that was highly visible to all customers (a good move on their part) that carried their freshly baked pieces of heaven.  You couldn't walk out of that place without at least a few of their hot glazed donuts as they came off the conveyor belt.  It was like their glazed donuts were royality, so they got to ride the conveyor belt thing.  Forget about a just a few, I was there to get a dozen or may two, which they packaged quite nicely in a pizza like sized box. 

I was on my way to work at my mid-town office like most days, however, on this morning I decided to bring a treat to the office - so what better than Krispy Kreme donuts!  I knew no other Kristy Kreme location where you were guaranteed freshly baked donuts.  So from the SI Ferry I walked to the Krispy Kreme at 5 WTC.  I didn't mind the walk, after all it was a beautiful clear day.  So I reached 5 WTC and recall looking at my watch - it was 8:00AM EST.  Got my order and jumped on the uptown train.  So was it destiny or luck that I was able to leave the WTC complex completely unharmed by the events that followed just 45 minutes later? 

At my mid-town office I remember watching in disbelief on a TV in an adjacent conference room as the first tower fell.  We were all in shock - as was all of America.  One of my deputy Managers had no clue his fireman brother responded to the crisis and would become one of this day's many hero's - but a casualty nonetheless.  Later, the 2nd tower fell.  

We dismissed staff early that day.  I walked from midtown (40th street) to the South Ferry terminal on the chance the SI Ferry was still running.  Getting there I passed images of a smog filled city that looked like a war zone.  It felt surreal seeing National Guardmen line the streets with their machine guns.  It was an erry feeling.  Well, I finally made it to the SI Ferry terminal and yes, remarkably it was running.  As the boat departed the downtown terminal I turned and watched the void where the Towers once stood as a memorable part of the New York skyline.  I was left with an emptiness I can still vividly recall. So was it luck, or was it destiny?