Morning of Grace and Gratitude, 9″ x 12 ” watercolor, By Donna Lyons ©2025
Strange but not strangers
By Marty Coffin Evans © 2018
Many of us will recall where we were on September 11, 2001. Although our locations will vary, the impact on our lives most likely will be similar.
Had we been on an airplane headed for America, our experience would be quite different. That’s especially true for the thousands of passengers on 38 international planes diverted to Gander, Newfoundland.
Their story has been told through the new musical “Come From Away” currently on national tour. Newfoundland’s population of 9,000 residents increased to 16,000 with the unexpected addition of 7,000 stranded airplane passengers.
Those on the planes did not know where they were let alone why they couldn’t get off. With all the uncertainty surrounding these unexpected arrivals, because of the unfolding tragedy in New York and Pennsylvania, these planes were held on the tarmac for hours, some up to 14, awaiting clearance to deplane its passengers.
What do you do with thousands of unexpected visitors? Empty the grocery store shelves. Bring clothing. Find housing whether at residents’ homes or in makeshift accommodations. Provide veterinary care along with food and water for animals on board the different airplanes.
Five days later, following numerous calls with passengers trying to connect with loved ones on the few available phones, they re-boarded. What must that have felt like for the travelers? What must the emotion have been for the residents whose lives could now return to normal? Or, would it ever?
“I was a stranger and you took me into your home…” so it says in Matthew 25:35. Indeed that’s what the residents of Gander did. When the stranded passengers wanted to give them money, the common reply was, “You would have done the same for us.” Donations did come in from those grateful passengers as did return visits and reunions.
Stories such as these restore our faith in mankind. Simple acts of kindness may go unnoticed until someone decides to tell them. I’m grateful they did.
September 2026