Sept 11th Remembered: Where were you on that day?

[UHadMeAtWooHoo]

Laurie, you are a strong woman to deal with that worry for 9 years! Bless your son for his continued service. Prayers for both you and NolaMar for your sons' safety,well being, and safe return home for good

[sallyannlady]

A lot of planes were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland that day. Here is a blog I wrote a few years ago after hearing a minister speak who was in Gander at the time. I found it amazing!
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Hi all. I had an incredible evening today, and I want to tell you just a little bit about it.

At a ladies' dinner & meeting at our church tonight,we had a special speaker- the man who was the Salvation Army officer in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, at the time of 9/11. As you all know, planes in the air were not allowed to enter US airspace after the first plane struck the tower. They were diverted to the nearest airstrip. 38 of these planes landed in Gander- the very first one 15 minutes after the first plane hit. What do you do with 6500 extra people in a town of 9000?

You do what you can. People were not allowed off their planes- some for as long as 36 hours. Everybody's carry-on luggage had to be gone through before they were allowed off, and there was one RCMP officer to do it. The toilet facilities on the planes stopped working. When people were finally allowed off, they could only take their carry-on luggage; nothing from the belly of the planes. And they were in Gander for a week to ten days.

You have to feed these people. Fast-food restaurants sent staff and all the food they could. People in the community made sandwiches by the trayfuls and brought them to the airport. Some people could not eat the food, being from other countries and origins. A Jewish rabbi ate nothing because it was not kosher. A call went out into the community for any Jewish people who could help. A man came forward, brought the proper utensils and food, and the rabbi was able to eat.

Where to sleep? The people of Gander were anxious to take these "plane people" into their homes, but they wanted all the passengers of each plane to stay together as much as possible, because when the call went out that the planes could leave, they wanted everyone there asap. so people slept on the floors of churches, schools, community centres, Salvation Army camps. Phone calls were placed to worried loved ones, hundreds of emails sent, people given messages from loved ones at home.

At one SA camp was housed an Arabian king and his entourage. One of the workers at this camp saw him sitting off in a corner by himself while the others were helping themselves to food. She asked him if he didn't want to join the others and get himself some food. He said "I'm a king- I don't serve myself- others serve me." She then said to him "You may be a king where you come from, but here, you're like everybody else, and you will serve yourself." He did as he was told, and by the end of their time there, he was cleaning off the tables. Amazing!!

Medication? All in the belly of the planes. The people may have enough in their carry-on for 1, maybe 2 days, but what happens after that? The druggists there went out of their way and contacted the home pharmacies of these people, and if translators were needed, that was attended to, and the people got their medication.

One more thing I never even thought of- you can't have 38 planes without there being pets aboard in the belly of the planes- and nobody was allowed in there. It got very hot in Gander that week, and one SPCA worker was concerned about any animals still aboard. How she did it, I don't know, but she got past all the red tape, and with some assistants, got all the animals out and quartered in a section of the airport where they could be cared for.

Friendships were started that have carried on, romances blossomed, and a couple years later, one of the people who was there, a wealthy restaurant owner from Montana, contacted the mayor of Gander and said, "I want to come back. I'm bringing my whole staff, all the food, drink, utensils and anything else needed, and we want to put on a BBQ for the people there." He did just that, and over 1000 people from the area came and took part in it. A family saw one of these "plane people" out walking and invited her into their home to join in their son's b'day party, not knowing she was a high-ranking official in the US Army. She was just a person that they shared a couple hamburgers with.

Sorry if I was rambling, but I was so fascinated and touched by the whole story that I had to share it with those of you who were interested enough to read this blog. Too bad it has to take a tragedy to find out who your real friends are. Let's treat each other as if a disaster could happen any day. Don't wait to show someone you care.

God bless. Annie xoxo

[dg90001]

Annie - I loved your blog post all these years later.

Most of the day I have spend crying because of the loss, your post highlighted beauty of the giving/sharing.

The Canadian government and people worked so hard to provide a safe haven to those that were diverted and stranded for so long.

[Legacy]

I have spent the evening watching 9/11 specials. I have cried at the inhumanity of the act, the images of loss, the scenes of people jumping from the upper floors, how horrible was it in those buildings that the better choice was to jump from 90 floors up? I have looked at the faces of the "1st responders" as they walked out of that hell. The sights and smells from that time will live with them always. I see a lot as a nurse, but I work in an atmosphere where I have control over my environment, and have the tools and medications to do my job. I am given a heads up as to what is heading my way whether it is someone coming to the ICU or an ambulance heading to the ER so I can prepare myself mentally for the challenge that is ahead of me. I am able to compartmentalize what I see and do, and can quite literally walk away from the building, and not think about it again until I walk back into the hospital. That is not a luxury these first responders had, and I have a great deal of respect for them. I cry for the children who lost parents, parents who lost children, wives who lost husbands, husbands who lost wives, friends who lost friends. I can not imagine losing so much in a single day as some did. The videos that captured the planes plowing into the buildings ... those images are forever seared into my brain.
And then I have cried at the amazing humanity of all those who helped, those who put their lives on the line to help strangers, the group of teenagers who went everyday with bottled water and sandwiches for the people who were digging into what was once the towers looking for someone who still lived and only finding the dead. Amazed with the reports of the outpouring of money, food, clothing, love --- so much given by people, many who had very little to give, but gave anyway.
And I have cried for the bravery of those who ran into the burning buildings knowing that they might not survive, but doing so anyway to save lives.
Tears of pride welled up when I heard those who were covered in soot, ash, and their own blood 10 years ago declare to the world that we, as Americans, will not live in fear but in freedom. And our young men and women marched off to a war to draw a line in the sand and fight and die so that we are able to live in freedom.
Never again, never again. Please God, never again. Amen.

[UHadMeAtWooHoo]

I should know better than to visit this thread at work

Annie, that is a great blog post. Very cool to know people and animals were taken care of by strangers and to know that the connections continued over the years.

Legacy, beautifully written! I had to stop watching after awhile. Put many of the specials on dvr to watch in small doses. It gets overwhelming emotionally, and I can't imagine how those who lost loved ones get through it, seeing it over and over again.

Wasn't this beautiful? One of my favorites by one of my favorites