Most of us can remember where we were when planes crashed into the New York World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. But many passengers flying over the Atlantic Ocean had no idea that the United States had ordered all planes to either turn back or land in a different country (mostly Canada). For many pilots and air traffic control, Gander Airport, Newfoundland was the most likely airport to accommodate so many planes. Although a town of less than 10,000 people, the airport had been built in 1938 and was used by English, American and Canadian air forces to re-fuel when heading to Europe to supply WWII troops and had once been the largest airport in the world. But even with a large runway, the town was ill equipped to accommodate over 6,000 people. Jim DeFede interviewed more than 180 people for The Day the World Came to Town to tell individual stories of how both the passengers and the people of Gander coped with an astronomical feat to help people who landed without even a toothbrush (bags and cases were not unloaded because there was a fear of further terrorist attacks and possible bombs). The kindness and empathy the people of Gander showed is an amazing story.
Despite all the doom and gloom projected on the airwaves and televisions today, take time to notice the kindness that people share to each other and lets focus on that rather than the dissention and hate that make headlines.
