There are places where good people abound - A positive experience for some on 9-11

On this tenth anniversary day where we remember 9-11, I was very surprised and pleased to read a story of passengers of diverted jets landing in Gander, Newfoundland in Atlantic Canada.  It is a very moving piece about the generosity and just plain goodness of people; the locals from Gander and area who rushed to assist the stranded passengers.  Gander airport received 38 of the total of 239 jetliners diverted to Canada as a result of the closing of US airspace.  Most of the diverted flights went to larger cities in Atlantic Canada, or other locations across Canada all the way to Whitehorse, Yukon. 

What made Gander different was that it is such a small town.  In fact the diverted planes doubled the town’s population in only one hour.  What is also different is the way that it changed the lives of thousands of those stranded passengers, in a very positive way.  Today, many of them feel more willing to help those around them, or take a chance on someone they might have dismissed out of hand before.  Pretty much all of them have fond memories of the time they spent with the people of Gander and area.  That is truly a testament to those residents, and proof positive that people can be good if only given a chance.

The story of those stranded passengers and those who helped them is a ‘must read,’ and I commend it to you. 

Wil