David B. Rodriguez-Vargas

Thoughts of Home

It is possible that on occasion, when not taking in the breathtaking view or rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful, a few diners at the Windows on the World restaurant atop the World Trade Center noticed the quiet man who cleared away their dishes.

But they could not have known of the difficult road that had brought David Rodriguez-Vargas from his humble hometown, Tenares, in the Dominican Republic, to what he considered the top of the world. "He was not afraid of problems," his wife, Saturnina Gomez Rodriguez, said. "He had a spirit that was very strong and mostly positive."

Mr. Rodriguez-Vargas, 44, came to New York in 1996 to be reunited with his older sister, Clara, who lived in Washington Heights in Manhattan. He settled there, too. A friend who worked at the Windows restaurant suggested he ask for a job, and he did.

A busboy's salary is modest, even at the top of the world, and there was not much money for Mr. Rodriguez-Vargas to play with. But it does not cost much to fish the lakes and streams around New York. And a good day with the rod, Mrs. Rodriguez said, usually meant a good, fresh dinner.

Dominoes, dancing, talking about the things men talk about —these were the things that filled out Mr. Rodriguez-Vargas's days. What he dreamed of in the quietest moments of his nights, his wife said, was visiting his mother and the rest of his family back in Tenares.