story9313.xml
Title
story9313.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-05-12
911DA Story: Story
I wrote the following "journal" for myself and to share with a few friends. After visiting your September 11 exhibit, "Bearing Witness to History," I have decided to share our experience.
11-14 September, 2001, Delta Flight 11
September 11, Tuesday
It was 7:00 A.M. in London and we were getting ready to leave our hotel for the flight home to Phoenix. We had a wonderful holiday with our friends, Janet, Ann, Babs and Mike, and Nick and Vivian. The weather had been great and we had wonderful memories of England, Wales and Scotland. Check in and boarding at Gatwick were fine and with an
on-time departure we were expecting an early arrival in Atlanta. Champagne and a nice dinner in First Class and we were feeling good, a little sleepy, but very comfortable.
About 10:30 AM. (EDT) our Captain came on the intercom and said, this is your Captain and his name, twice; immediately you knew something was wrong. My thoughts went to mechanical problems. He said there were terrorist attacks in the United States, the US airspace was closed, and we had to divert to the nearest airport, which for us was St. John's, Newfoundland.
The Captain told us he would keep us posted as he learned things. We were 120 miles from St. John's. Immediately, some of the passengers with international cell phones called business associates, friends and family and found out that two planes (one was American 11) had flown into the twin towers at the World Trade Center, they were down and burning, and the Pentagon was hit by a third plane. There were other rumors about planes missing. That turned out to be the plane that went down in Pennsylvania. It now appears that plane was heading for the White House or the Capitol and at least three brave passengers thwarted that plot. One very kind man let others use his cell phone to call someone in the States and let them know we were safe. We tried Rachel, busy signal, Roma and Harold, busy signal, and finally got through to Ira and asked him to call Rachel and Harold.
About 11:30 A.M. (EDT), we landed at St. John's where the local time was 1:00 P.M. (1 1/2 hours ahead of Atlanta). We were the third plane to land. Eventually, there would be 27 aircraft. Our pilot told us we would probably have to stay on the plane for a couple of hours. After he returned several hours later from a meeting with the other Captains and officials from St. John's, he told us they were going to start deboarding the planes but starting with the smaller planes; we were one of the largest, a 777. He told us to prepare that it might take the Canadians 20 hours to get us off the plane because of security, fear of terrorist, and few people to check us through customs and security. St. John's gets four international flights a week; they were not prepared for so many at once, nor for wide body aircraft.
From our window, we could see one plane unloading the passengers and we thought it was a security checks in "out houses." It turned out to really be out houses because the passengers had to stand on the tarmac so long and really needed restrooms. There had been a bomb scare on their United flight. We could use the restrooms on our plane. They were also able to keep air on our plane. The Captain lit up the seat belt signs a couple of times when they would allow the smokers to go to the back of the plane, open up the plane, and let them smoke for a few short minutes.
About 9:30 PM, we were allowed off our plane. We had to leave everything on the plane; no carryon could be taken with us. Women were allowed their purses; men only had their pockets. Len was smart and told us to put on layers as Newfoundland might be cold and who knew how long we would have to stand on the tarmac. We had seen the passengers on that one plane standing outside for a long time that had used out houses. The man that was kind to loan others and us the use of his cell phone to call family only had his shirt; his jacket was in check-in luggage. I loaned him my rafting raincoat. The jacket had three zipper pockets he could use for his fancy phones, jacks, etc. We also took Delta's pillows and blankets.
Our Captain thanked us as passengers for cooperating and being so good. He said some of the other Captains had problems with some of their passengers. Our thoughts were only about the horror that had transpired in the US and what if we had been targeted. An American 11 crashed, we were Delta 11 and on 11 September.
After about 9 hours on the tarmac, we walked into the terminal. It was under construction. Everyone at St. John's terminal was professional, kind, and understanding. They had to put together a rushed plan and were overwhelmed with 27 planes of "refugees." They had sandwiches and water available.
We were loaded onto buses. The woman on our bus from the airport to the ice hockey arena had great sympathy for us but also a cute sense of humor and tried to make everyone feel comfortable.
About 10:30 PM, we arrived at the ice hockey arena where all the passengers from all the planes had been taken. Each planeload went to a different section of the ice hockey arena to wait to hear when and where we would go. They had sandwiches (professionally wrapped and handmade by the locals and brought to the arena), pizzas, fruit, water, all sorts of food was available. It was very touching to see the entire city of St. John's was trying to help us. For the first time, we could see the pictures of the horrific tragedy on CNN but could not hear the TV in the center of the arena.
Phones were set up for us to call free. They asked to keep it short and no more than 5 calls so everyone could use them. We were able to get Rachel, Roma and Harold at this time.
Most of the stranded passengers were taken to schools and churches. The Delta 11 group went mostly to a school and a church. We went with the second bus group from our flight from the arena and we were taken to The Hub, a center for the handicapped. They had more soup and food available for us. We did not know where we were going until we were on the buses. We really felt like refugees, no clothes, at the mercy of their kindness, and going wherever they said our group would go.
About 12:30 AM, we arrived at The Hub, many memories: Tom, the director, Becky, energetic and jumping, Jim, in the wheel chair. People helping and others dazed. We were glued to CNN on the TV. We could finally hear and see everything that was being televised. We were offered a home to spend the night with a family. We suggested this elderly woman, and another woman passenger that had stayed with her, be offered their home. We felt her needs were greater than ours. They did go. We started making our bed on the floor with the others. We were using donated sheets, blankets, quilts, and pillows. There was a restroom available but no showers. We felt so dirty and the floor looked so uninviting, noisy, lights, and more people arriving in shifts. We could not sleep so just watching CNN.
A delightful young lady, Nancy Puddicome, had volunteered to help at the Hub and she asked if we wanted to spend the night with her aunt and uncle. Most of the other refugees were getting settled for the night so we said yes we would like to go. She said her aunt and uncle would come and pick us up. Others offered to take us as they felt we were waiting too long. Nancy said they would come and give her a ride home also. Her mother had taken in 5 people from the planes. It turned out that Cavell's brother was a bus driver and had helped drive buses to transport the passengers from the airport to Mile One Stadium.
About 2:00 AM. Cavell and Ashton Stanley opened the door to their lovely, clean home for us. Clean seemed so important as we kept sitting and sitting on that plane and bused several times. Cavell and Ashton were so nice and wonderful to us from the very beginning. They made us feel very welcomed. The Stanley's were like angels from heaven. We were so fortunate. Their house was clean and nice. They were warm, kind, guessing our needs, telling us to ask for anything, offering a cup of tea, wanting to talk at 3:00 A.M. (it was now 24 hours since we woke in London). I had to crash. Len stayed up and talked. I showered and Cavell gave me her wonderful, soft nightgown; it felt so good and luxurious, like a princess. This was indescribable luxury after having made up the bed on the floor that seemed unclean and I felt so dirty, no showers available. It was so comforting to have soft, rich nightie, clean sheets, and a lovely room.
Len said, "Peggy crashed; Len didn't shut up!"
September 12, Wednesday
Cavell made us a lovely scrambled egg breakfast. The Stanley's were warm and assuring us they were happy we were there. They love company. There was lots of warm sharing between the four of us. They enjoyed Len's stories, amazed with his memory, and historical facts. They wanted to be involved and helping the St. John's community help the stranded passengers. They hurt for Americans and like Americans.
The word was given that no planes would leave St. John that day. The US airports were closed and no crafts moving. Our 27 stranded aircrafts and at other Canadian airports were freezing up Canadian travel. No hotels the first night we landed, few the next, as most tourist at St. John's could not leave. Len started calling this "the vacation that wouldn't end."
Stanley's gave us a wonderful tour of St. John's. All the Canadian flags were flying at half-mast. We went to Cape Spear, the most Eastern tip of North America. Downtown St. John's is adorable, neat buildings, and pastel painted houses and buildings in a row. We went to Signal Hill, George St., famous for its nightlife, and Water Street, downtown. Both lighthouses are wonderful, gorgeous views from them, and wonderful picturesque drives. Everyone at St. John's was so kind and friendly and wishing us well, asking questions. A young woman working at one lighthouse said she had put her name in for 5 people to stay with her but had never been called. As we finished the tour of the lighthouse, she refunded the cost of the tickets for the Stanley's. She said it was nice of them to give us a tour while stranded. Cavell donated the money to their donation funds. We found everyone wanted to help. We were able to treat the Stanley's to a fish and chip lunch at a fun place they picked out for us as typical of St. John's.
We stopped by the arena, but the "command center" had moved across the street to the Civic Center. Many had slept there. They had phones available for people to call their loved ones and lots of food. We did not use their phones as we could use our calling card at the Stanley's. We stopped by the Hub. They had no news. We went back to the Stanley's; Ashton did some work; he works out of his home. Cavell took a little nap. Len and I watched CNN. Later in the afternoon, Cavell took us to the mall. At Sear's, we bought clean underwear, socks, and a duffle bag to hold our things instead of looking like the homeless. The clerks were very interested in us, helpful and friendly, and said many had come and bought underwear.
Cavell fixed us a lovely stir-fry rice dinner with egg rolls, meatballs, and sauces. The weather was great, lovely sightseeing, and enjoying talking and being with the Stanley's. They are wonderful. We feel like we will be friends for life. Cavell and I had lots in common. Cavell let us do a wash and that was wonderful as we now had another set of underwear to wear. I wore one of her robes and Len wore one of their son's jeans. We stayed up and talked and checked the TV news from time to time.
Papers were full of stories of Osama bin Laden being expelled by his native country, Saudi Arabia, and had moved to Afghanistan. The St. John's paper also said: "many flights from Europe ended up in Canada, where people were truly dependent on the kindness of strangers." How true. We were experiencing it first hand. We met some passengers that had to sleep at the schools, churches, but other St. John's people were offering to drive them around to see the harbor, lighthouses, and do some underwear type shopping. There were touching scenes over and over of the Canadians being so kind and friendly to the stranded.
The flights from Europe, Sabina and KLM, were sent back to Europe. Many of the Americans on those flights were unhappy. They did not want to go back to Europe and start their flights to the States all over. To let people change flights was just to overwhelming for the airlines to try. It was too bad, as some of the business people on our flights had only come over for a meeting and it was already missed or cancelled and would have preferred to return on the European flights. The Americans that left the flights and would not return to Europe on their original flights were told they would be completely on their own. The airlines could not help them financially.
September 13, Thursday
We had a nice breakfast at the Stanley's and then Cavell took us to the Hub. She went to work. Everyone at the Hub continued to be cheerful and working hard. Many had very little sleep as they helped the stranded. There was one family with four small children moving from Great Britain to Florida. It was amazing to watch them cope. The children were very good. A house across the street, invited the three oldest to watch videos and play at their house. This gave the young parents a break from time to time and only had the baby constantly. There was another young couple we enjoyed with a baby and "Speedy" who was four and really cute.
The Hub provided a hamburger/hotdog cookout lunch. Jim, in the wheelchair, did all the B-B-Q. He was amazing. Everyone else was helping with the salad, buns, baked beans, and drinks. It was very tasty. We were becoming friends with the many that worked at the Hub. Again, they were so kind and friendly.
We took two walks from the Hub and toured the area, including the Basilica and churches. We could not go for longer as Tom scheduled updates through out the day and we did not want to miss hearing the time to board the planes to the states. The Stanley's had told us be sure and plan to stay with them if our plane could not get out that day. We agreed if they would let us take them out to dinner. We found a wonderful place as we walked and asked people for suggestions. We also liked one of the owners. We said it was a nice restaurant but we could only come with what we were wearing. She said we could do a wash while we dined and wear blankets! She had a washer and dryer downstairs. We stopped at the post office and were short of a few pennies. The postman said to forget it we had gone through so much. He had helped unload passengers from the plane and wanted to hear about our experience. On one walk, we were walking in front of housing that was clearly subsidized housing and two women were sitting on their front porch. They called out asking if we were people from the planes. We said yes. They said wouldn't we like to stop and have a cup of tea with them. We found everyone wanting to reach out and help all of us! As we were dealing emotionally with the horrors in America from the terrorist, we were experiencing the best in mankind. It is hard to explain and put in words all the emotions we were experiencing.
At 3:30 P.M. Tom had talked to our Captain and we were told we would not get out that day, Thursday, maybe the next day, Friday, but most likely Saturday. We called Cavell and she said she would pick us up about 4:30.
At their home, we had a drink with the Stanley's and enjoyed talking and sharing. I have also neglected to mention their adorable dog. He was cute, fun, and enjoyable and just loved to be where the people were. Len even became pretty attached to him!
We took Cavell and Ashton to Chez Brianna. It turned out to be a wonderful restaurant.. We all enjoyed what we ordered. The Stanley's had never been there. It was nice to treat them to a restaurant that was new to them.
When we got home, Len called Delta and they said our flight was given a new flight number and scheduled to leave at 8:30 the next morning. Len called the Hub and they said they were getting ready to call everyone and ask them to return at 4:00 AM. We started talking if we should go back to the Hub now or wait until 4:00 in the morning. What would be best for the Stanley's. I decided it would be smart to go and take my shower now so I would be ready for either decision after more calls. Len agreed and took his shower also. We decided that we should return to The Hub.
September 14, Friday
About 12:30 AM, we were back at the Hub. No one else returned until about 4:00 AM. I made up two beds on the floor with used sheets and blankets. We still had our Delta pillows. Len slept pretty well. I was up and down constantly checking all the noises. Amazing how all the workers were running around and doing things to get ready for everyone to return. Donuts and coffee were available for everyone for breakfast. Many of us "refugees" looked so tired.
At 5:15 AM, they bused us back to the ice hockey arena to have the same drill. Sit with your flight and wait until you hear you will be bused back to the airport. At 7:10 AM, we left Mile One Stadium. We drove to the airport and then we got to sit on the bus and wait our turn to go through customs. We finally got to escape to go to the restroom but back on the bus! At 8:30 AM, we got off the bus and were taken to a room to find our carry-on luggage. Delta flight 11's luggage was altogether in one room. Our four pieces of luggage were in various places.
After getting your luggage, you were lined up again to go through customs. Security was very tight and took a long time. They took away everything: Len's Swiss army knife he has carried forever, tweezers, fingernail clippers, little kit for screwing your sunglasses, razors (just Len's blade, but my entire one), many of them seem to have different directions on what to confiscate. They emptied your entire carryon and made such a mess. They took away one man's welding tools, said they were too heavy and could be used as a weapon. Eventually, they said they would put it in the belly of the plane with the other baggage. Who knows if he ever saw it again or not. We did not get our items that were taken.
11:00 AM, we boarded our plane, 72+ hours late. We were the first plane to leave St. John to return to the US. Everyone clapped when we were in the air again. We exchanged our stories of our experiences in St. John. Everyone praised the city. We felt we were one of the most fortunate because Cavell and Stanley were such wonderful people and made us feel like they had been expecting us and happy to see us.
2:35 PM Atlanta time, we landed with so many emotions, the horrific tragedy, and unbelievable stories, in stark contrast with our unexpected time with the wonderful people of St. John's. Delta's reception to our plane took us by complete surprise. It was wonderful. As we taxied to our gate, hundreds of maintenance people were lined up outside our window, waving their hands, flags, and signs. It felt so good. We were not forgotten. Some people understood what we had gone through. I wondered if this was what it felt like to receive a war hero's welcome. Len suggested I get my camera and try to take pictures. More was to come to our surprise. I am glad I put the camera in my pocket instead of in the luggage. When we entered the terminal, more Delta employees were waving their hands, flags, and had signs to welcome us. As we left customs, the largest crowd of all was cheering us on with signs, flags, and waving. One large black man was at the center and gave me a big hug. Then, Len gave him a big hug. It felt so good to be in America again.
Delta also had personnel to greet each of us and to help us. If you had luggage to claim, you went one way; another way if Atlanta was your destination; stations set up right there for those of us that needed to find connecting flights. Delta could not have tried to help us more. They were great to help us and to welcome us back to America.
Len changed our flight several times to Phoenix because of delays and gambling which plane would leave first. All over the terminal, you heard announcements that the plane was ready but they were waiting for one more crewmember. Flight crews were stranded all over America or had flown too many hours and were grounded.
We finally boarded Delta 689 which was running 3 hours behind schedule. Airborne to Phoenix in First Class and it felt great to be on the last leg of this odyssey. Landed in Phoenix around 10:00 P.M., got our car and headed for the house. It never felt so good to be back in our own home and only 80 hours late. Another nice touch was the Boy Scouts had an American flag flying in front of our home!
The entire experience was surreal. As most Americans, we are trying to come to terms with what happened. Are we going to war? What does that really mean? The enemy seems invisible and scattered everywhere, even throughout our own country, not just Afghanistan.
I am wearing lapel pins of the American/Arizona flags and Canada/Newfoundland flags. Why does this symbolism feel good? There is much to try and understand.
NY Times: "We've never been faced with anything of this magnitude simultaneously. Even people who have dealt with bereaved kids a lot are struggling to understand how this will be interpreted by children." How will everyone, adults, children, our leaders, and I interpret this?
11-14 September, 2001, Delta Flight 11
September 11, Tuesday
It was 7:00 A.M. in London and we were getting ready to leave our hotel for the flight home to Phoenix. We had a wonderful holiday with our friends, Janet, Ann, Babs and Mike, and Nick and Vivian. The weather had been great and we had wonderful memories of England, Wales and Scotland. Check in and boarding at Gatwick were fine and with an
on-time departure we were expecting an early arrival in Atlanta. Champagne and a nice dinner in First Class and we were feeling good, a little sleepy, but very comfortable.
About 10:30 AM. (EDT) our Captain came on the intercom and said, this is your Captain and his name, twice; immediately you knew something was wrong. My thoughts went to mechanical problems. He said there were terrorist attacks in the United States, the US airspace was closed, and we had to divert to the nearest airport, which for us was St. John's, Newfoundland.
The Captain told us he would keep us posted as he learned things. We were 120 miles from St. John's. Immediately, some of the passengers with international cell phones called business associates, friends and family and found out that two planes (one was American 11) had flown into the twin towers at the World Trade Center, they were down and burning, and the Pentagon was hit by a third plane. There were other rumors about planes missing. That turned out to be the plane that went down in Pennsylvania. It now appears that plane was heading for the White House or the Capitol and at least three brave passengers thwarted that plot. One very kind man let others use his cell phone to call someone in the States and let them know we were safe. We tried Rachel, busy signal, Roma and Harold, busy signal, and finally got through to Ira and asked him to call Rachel and Harold.
About 11:30 A.M. (EDT), we landed at St. John's where the local time was 1:00 P.M. (1 1/2 hours ahead of Atlanta). We were the third plane to land. Eventually, there would be 27 aircraft. Our pilot told us we would probably have to stay on the plane for a couple of hours. After he returned several hours later from a meeting with the other Captains and officials from St. John's, he told us they were going to start deboarding the planes but starting with the smaller planes; we were one of the largest, a 777. He told us to prepare that it might take the Canadians 20 hours to get us off the plane because of security, fear of terrorist, and few people to check us through customs and security. St. John's gets four international flights a week; they were not prepared for so many at once, nor for wide body aircraft.
From our window, we could see one plane unloading the passengers and we thought it was a security checks in "out houses." It turned out to really be out houses because the passengers had to stand on the tarmac so long and really needed restrooms. There had been a bomb scare on their United flight. We could use the restrooms on our plane. They were also able to keep air on our plane. The Captain lit up the seat belt signs a couple of times when they would allow the smokers to go to the back of the plane, open up the plane, and let them smoke for a few short minutes.
About 9:30 PM, we were allowed off our plane. We had to leave everything on the plane; no carryon could be taken with us. Women were allowed their purses; men only had their pockets. Len was smart and told us to put on layers as Newfoundland might be cold and who knew how long we would have to stand on the tarmac. We had seen the passengers on that one plane standing outside for a long time that had used out houses. The man that was kind to loan others and us the use of his cell phone to call family only had his shirt; his jacket was in check-in luggage. I loaned him my rafting raincoat. The jacket had three zipper pockets he could use for his fancy phones, jacks, etc. We also took Delta's pillows and blankets.
Our Captain thanked us as passengers for cooperating and being so good. He said some of the other Captains had problems with some of their passengers. Our thoughts were only about the horror that had transpired in the US and what if we had been targeted. An American 11 crashed, we were Delta 11 and on 11 September.
After about 9 hours on the tarmac, we walked into the terminal. It was under construction. Everyone at St. John's terminal was professional, kind, and understanding. They had to put together a rushed plan and were overwhelmed with 27 planes of "refugees." They had sandwiches and water available.
We were loaded onto buses. The woman on our bus from the airport to the ice hockey arena had great sympathy for us but also a cute sense of humor and tried to make everyone feel comfortable.
About 10:30 PM, we arrived at the ice hockey arena where all the passengers from all the planes had been taken. Each planeload went to a different section of the ice hockey arena to wait to hear when and where we would go. They had sandwiches (professionally wrapped and handmade by the locals and brought to the arena), pizzas, fruit, water, all sorts of food was available. It was very touching to see the entire city of St. John's was trying to help us. For the first time, we could see the pictures of the horrific tragedy on CNN but could not hear the TV in the center of the arena.
Phones were set up for us to call free. They asked to keep it short and no more than 5 calls so everyone could use them. We were able to get Rachel, Roma and Harold at this time.
Most of the stranded passengers were taken to schools and churches. The Delta 11 group went mostly to a school and a church. We went with the second bus group from our flight from the arena and we were taken to The Hub, a center for the handicapped. They had more soup and food available for us. We did not know where we were going until we were on the buses. We really felt like refugees, no clothes, at the mercy of their kindness, and going wherever they said our group would go.
About 12:30 AM, we arrived at The Hub, many memories: Tom, the director, Becky, energetic and jumping, Jim, in the wheel chair. People helping and others dazed. We were glued to CNN on the TV. We could finally hear and see everything that was being televised. We were offered a home to spend the night with a family. We suggested this elderly woman, and another woman passenger that had stayed with her, be offered their home. We felt her needs were greater than ours. They did go. We started making our bed on the floor with the others. We were using donated sheets, blankets, quilts, and pillows. There was a restroom available but no showers. We felt so dirty and the floor looked so uninviting, noisy, lights, and more people arriving in shifts. We could not sleep so just watching CNN.
A delightful young lady, Nancy Puddicome, had volunteered to help at the Hub and she asked if we wanted to spend the night with her aunt and uncle. Most of the other refugees were getting settled for the night so we said yes we would like to go. She said her aunt and uncle would come and pick us up. Others offered to take us as they felt we were waiting too long. Nancy said they would come and give her a ride home also. Her mother had taken in 5 people from the planes. It turned out that Cavell's brother was a bus driver and had helped drive buses to transport the passengers from the airport to Mile One Stadium.
About 2:00 AM. Cavell and Ashton Stanley opened the door to their lovely, clean home for us. Clean seemed so important as we kept sitting and sitting on that plane and bused several times. Cavell and Ashton were so nice and wonderful to us from the very beginning. They made us feel very welcomed. The Stanley's were like angels from heaven. We were so fortunate. Their house was clean and nice. They were warm, kind, guessing our needs, telling us to ask for anything, offering a cup of tea, wanting to talk at 3:00 A.M. (it was now 24 hours since we woke in London). I had to crash. Len stayed up and talked. I showered and Cavell gave me her wonderful, soft nightgown; it felt so good and luxurious, like a princess. This was indescribable luxury after having made up the bed on the floor that seemed unclean and I felt so dirty, no showers available. It was so comforting to have soft, rich nightie, clean sheets, and a lovely room.
Len said, "Peggy crashed; Len didn't shut up!"
September 12, Wednesday
Cavell made us a lovely scrambled egg breakfast. The Stanley's were warm and assuring us they were happy we were there. They love company. There was lots of warm sharing between the four of us. They enjoyed Len's stories, amazed with his memory, and historical facts. They wanted to be involved and helping the St. John's community help the stranded passengers. They hurt for Americans and like Americans.
The word was given that no planes would leave St. John that day. The US airports were closed and no crafts moving. Our 27 stranded aircrafts and at other Canadian airports were freezing up Canadian travel. No hotels the first night we landed, few the next, as most tourist at St. John's could not leave. Len started calling this "the vacation that wouldn't end."
Stanley's gave us a wonderful tour of St. John's. All the Canadian flags were flying at half-mast. We went to Cape Spear, the most Eastern tip of North America. Downtown St. John's is adorable, neat buildings, and pastel painted houses and buildings in a row. We went to Signal Hill, George St., famous for its nightlife, and Water Street, downtown. Both lighthouses are wonderful, gorgeous views from them, and wonderful picturesque drives. Everyone at St. John's was so kind and friendly and wishing us well, asking questions. A young woman working at one lighthouse said she had put her name in for 5 people to stay with her but had never been called. As we finished the tour of the lighthouse, she refunded the cost of the tickets for the Stanley's. She said it was nice of them to give us a tour while stranded. Cavell donated the money to their donation funds. We found everyone wanted to help. We were able to treat the Stanley's to a fish and chip lunch at a fun place they picked out for us as typical of St. John's.
We stopped by the arena, but the "command center" had moved across the street to the Civic Center. Many had slept there. They had phones available for people to call their loved ones and lots of food. We did not use their phones as we could use our calling card at the Stanley's. We stopped by the Hub. They had no news. We went back to the Stanley's; Ashton did some work; he works out of his home. Cavell took a little nap. Len and I watched CNN. Later in the afternoon, Cavell took us to the mall. At Sear's, we bought clean underwear, socks, and a duffle bag to hold our things instead of looking like the homeless. The clerks were very interested in us, helpful and friendly, and said many had come and bought underwear.
Cavell fixed us a lovely stir-fry rice dinner with egg rolls, meatballs, and sauces. The weather was great, lovely sightseeing, and enjoying talking and being with the Stanley's. They are wonderful. We feel like we will be friends for life. Cavell and I had lots in common. Cavell let us do a wash and that was wonderful as we now had another set of underwear to wear. I wore one of her robes and Len wore one of their son's jeans. We stayed up and talked and checked the TV news from time to time.
Papers were full of stories of Osama bin Laden being expelled by his native country, Saudi Arabia, and had moved to Afghanistan. The St. John's paper also said: "many flights from Europe ended up in Canada, where people were truly dependent on the kindness of strangers." How true. We were experiencing it first hand. We met some passengers that had to sleep at the schools, churches, but other St. John's people were offering to drive them around to see the harbor, lighthouses, and do some underwear type shopping. There were touching scenes over and over of the Canadians being so kind and friendly to the stranded.
The flights from Europe, Sabina and KLM, were sent back to Europe. Many of the Americans on those flights were unhappy. They did not want to go back to Europe and start their flights to the States all over. To let people change flights was just to overwhelming for the airlines to try. It was too bad, as some of the business people on our flights had only come over for a meeting and it was already missed or cancelled and would have preferred to return on the European flights. The Americans that left the flights and would not return to Europe on their original flights were told they would be completely on their own. The airlines could not help them financially.
September 13, Thursday
We had a nice breakfast at the Stanley's and then Cavell took us to the Hub. She went to work. Everyone at the Hub continued to be cheerful and working hard. Many had very little sleep as they helped the stranded. There was one family with four small children moving from Great Britain to Florida. It was amazing to watch them cope. The children were very good. A house across the street, invited the three oldest to watch videos and play at their house. This gave the young parents a break from time to time and only had the baby constantly. There was another young couple we enjoyed with a baby and "Speedy" who was four and really cute.
The Hub provided a hamburger/hotdog cookout lunch. Jim, in the wheelchair, did all the B-B-Q. He was amazing. Everyone else was helping with the salad, buns, baked beans, and drinks. It was very tasty. We were becoming friends with the many that worked at the Hub. Again, they were so kind and friendly.
We took two walks from the Hub and toured the area, including the Basilica and churches. We could not go for longer as Tom scheduled updates through out the day and we did not want to miss hearing the time to board the planes to the states. The Stanley's had told us be sure and plan to stay with them if our plane could not get out that day. We agreed if they would let us take them out to dinner. We found a wonderful place as we walked and asked people for suggestions. We also liked one of the owners. We said it was a nice restaurant but we could only come with what we were wearing. She said we could do a wash while we dined and wear blankets! She had a washer and dryer downstairs. We stopped at the post office and were short of a few pennies. The postman said to forget it we had gone through so much. He had helped unload passengers from the plane and wanted to hear about our experience. On one walk, we were walking in front of housing that was clearly subsidized housing and two women were sitting on their front porch. They called out asking if we were people from the planes. We said yes. They said wouldn't we like to stop and have a cup of tea with them. We found everyone wanting to reach out and help all of us! As we were dealing emotionally with the horrors in America from the terrorist, we were experiencing the best in mankind. It is hard to explain and put in words all the emotions we were experiencing.
At 3:30 P.M. Tom had talked to our Captain and we were told we would not get out that day, Thursday, maybe the next day, Friday, but most likely Saturday. We called Cavell and she said she would pick us up about 4:30.
At their home, we had a drink with the Stanley's and enjoyed talking and sharing. I have also neglected to mention their adorable dog. He was cute, fun, and enjoyable and just loved to be where the people were. Len even became pretty attached to him!
We took Cavell and Ashton to Chez Brianna. It turned out to be a wonderful restaurant.. We all enjoyed what we ordered. The Stanley's had never been there. It was nice to treat them to a restaurant that was new to them.
When we got home, Len called Delta and they said our flight was given a new flight number and scheduled to leave at 8:30 the next morning. Len called the Hub and they said they were getting ready to call everyone and ask them to return at 4:00 AM. We started talking if we should go back to the Hub now or wait until 4:00 in the morning. What would be best for the Stanley's. I decided it would be smart to go and take my shower now so I would be ready for either decision after more calls. Len agreed and took his shower also. We decided that we should return to The Hub.
September 14, Friday
About 12:30 AM, we were back at the Hub. No one else returned until about 4:00 AM. I made up two beds on the floor with used sheets and blankets. We still had our Delta pillows. Len slept pretty well. I was up and down constantly checking all the noises. Amazing how all the workers were running around and doing things to get ready for everyone to return. Donuts and coffee were available for everyone for breakfast. Many of us "refugees" looked so tired.
At 5:15 AM, they bused us back to the ice hockey arena to have the same drill. Sit with your flight and wait until you hear you will be bused back to the airport. At 7:10 AM, we left Mile One Stadium. We drove to the airport and then we got to sit on the bus and wait our turn to go through customs. We finally got to escape to go to the restroom but back on the bus! At 8:30 AM, we got off the bus and were taken to a room to find our carry-on luggage. Delta flight 11's luggage was altogether in one room. Our four pieces of luggage were in various places.
After getting your luggage, you were lined up again to go through customs. Security was very tight and took a long time. They took away everything: Len's Swiss army knife he has carried forever, tweezers, fingernail clippers, little kit for screwing your sunglasses, razors (just Len's blade, but my entire one), many of them seem to have different directions on what to confiscate. They emptied your entire carryon and made such a mess. They took away one man's welding tools, said they were too heavy and could be used as a weapon. Eventually, they said they would put it in the belly of the plane with the other baggage. Who knows if he ever saw it again or not. We did not get our items that were taken.
11:00 AM, we boarded our plane, 72+ hours late. We were the first plane to leave St. John to return to the US. Everyone clapped when we were in the air again. We exchanged our stories of our experiences in St. John. Everyone praised the city. We felt we were one of the most fortunate because Cavell and Stanley were such wonderful people and made us feel like they had been expecting us and happy to see us.
2:35 PM Atlanta time, we landed with so many emotions, the horrific tragedy, and unbelievable stories, in stark contrast with our unexpected time with the wonderful people of St. John's. Delta's reception to our plane took us by complete surprise. It was wonderful. As we taxied to our gate, hundreds of maintenance people were lined up outside our window, waving their hands, flags, and signs. It felt so good. We were not forgotten. Some people understood what we had gone through. I wondered if this was what it felt like to receive a war hero's welcome. Len suggested I get my camera and try to take pictures. More was to come to our surprise. I am glad I put the camera in my pocket instead of in the luggage. When we entered the terminal, more Delta employees were waving their hands, flags, and had signs to welcome us. As we left customs, the largest crowd of all was cheering us on with signs, flags, and waving. One large black man was at the center and gave me a big hug. Then, Len gave him a big hug. It felt so good to be in America again.
Delta also had personnel to greet each of us and to help us. If you had luggage to claim, you went one way; another way if Atlanta was your destination; stations set up right there for those of us that needed to find connecting flights. Delta could not have tried to help us more. They were great to help us and to welcome us back to America.
Len changed our flight several times to Phoenix because of delays and gambling which plane would leave first. All over the terminal, you heard announcements that the plane was ready but they were waiting for one more crewmember. Flight crews were stranded all over America or had flown too many hours and were grounded.
We finally boarded Delta 689 which was running 3 hours behind schedule. Airborne to Phoenix in First Class and it felt great to be on the last leg of this odyssey. Landed in Phoenix around 10:00 P.M., got our car and headed for the house. It never felt so good to be back in our own home and only 80 hours late. Another nice touch was the Boy Scouts had an American flag flying in front of our home!
The entire experience was surreal. As most Americans, we are trying to come to terms with what happened. Are we going to war? What does that really mean? The enemy seems invisible and scattered everywhere, even throughout our own country, not just Afghanistan.
I am wearing lapel pins of the American/Arizona flags and Canada/Newfoundland flags. Why does this symbolism feel good? There is much to try and understand.
NY Times: "We've never been faced with anything of this magnitude simultaneously. Even people who have dealt with bereaved kids a lot are struggling to understand how this will be interpreted by children." How will everyone, adults, children, our leaders, and I interpret this?
Collection
Citation
“story9313.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 15, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/16732.