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2002-03-11

What a GREAT story from the Delta pilot (below). It is incredible to see how so many have pulled together on a moment's notice to help at a time like this.

It was particularly poignant for me to read that today, as I just returned from New York City at 1:00 AM this morning, having spent the weekend there to celebrate my dear friend Josiah's marriage to his delightful fiancée Barbara.

I flew into La Guardia around 9:30 AM Saturday, a beautifully clear day which afforded a perfect view of of Manhattan as we flew from the southernmost tip all the way up past Harlem, staying parallel to the avenues. Approaching Manhattan from the south was a strange new sight. I realized as I tried to locate Ground Zero from the air that I had always used the twin towers to get my bearings. After finding some other landmarks, I deduced that a "cloudy" area surrounded by parked emergency vehicles and busses must be the former World Trade Center towers.

The wedding was to take place Sunday in the Gramercy Park area where I stayed. So once in town, I used my free time on Saturday to walk from the hotel all over the southern tip of Manhattan and down to Ground Zero. I really felt compelled to visit the site and experience it for myself; I just couldn't see visiting New York at this point in history without making that pilgrimage.

On my way down, I stopped at one of the NYFD engine companies and saw the hundreds of letters, posters, poems, banners, photos and candles that were sent to honor the men and women who gave their lives. I signed their visitor's register, thanking them for re-defining heroes to be what they used to mean -- not sports figures, rock stars and actors. It was a very sobering but uplifting visit. While I was there, the Company received an emergency call and rushed out on their pumper -- with a big American flag waving in the breeze from the back of the truck as they pulled away.

From there, two police officers were kind enough to give me directions for a round about route from Broadway that would allow me to get closer to the site than from other approaches.

I continued downtown, and just before I reached City Hall, I could begin to smell the smoke from the wreckage - something that brings the reality home in a way that television can't begin to convey. This was late afternoon on Saturday, and thousands of people were walking to the same destination. The closer we got, the more harbingers began to appear -- thinning traffic consisting mostly of maintenance vehicles and emergency crews -- National Guardsmen in traffic vests stopping all but authorized vehicles -- cables running to low temporary telephone kiosks on wheels with crew members kneeling by them to call home -- temporary cell towers hoisted on cranes, buckets, scaffolding...anything tall enough to restore cell service (which worked quite well) -- policemen everywhere -- barriers keeping the onlookers off the streets, with the few workers allowed on them wearing ID badges...ID badges everywhere.

Finally as I neared the site, huge crowds began gathering at every intersection behind the barricades, on the side of the street farthest from the wreckage. This was because, with every new block, you could begin to see better and better glimpses of the devastation two or more blocks to the west -- tower structures jutting out at strange angles -- buildings with patchwork patterns of randomly boarded up windows -- crews on rooftops, lowering debris and hoisting roofing materials... As I looked all around me, particularly upwards (as you tend to do when you've just arrived in New York City), I noticed that people had written all sorts of messages of encouragement in the thick dust that covered the building fronts. Crews were on ladders, cleaning and polishing. Many of the storefronts had devoted their windows to photos and mementos. Letters and posters were up anywhere there was space, thanking the volunteers and city employees for their efforts.

Finally as we entered the last few blocks which were even with the site, the pedestrian traffic on the sidewalks slowed to a crawl; sometimes to a complete stop. And people began to talk to each other -- to strangers -- commenting with amazement about what they were seeing. People would stop at each intersection, and try to take it all in -- often for several minutes; some with tears in their eyes. Despite being packed together like cattle, no one really seemed impatient with those that felt it necessary to linger there, maybe suspecting that they had some closer, emotional connection to what had happened, and most everyone realizing that people needed to experience this in their own way.

At the cross street with the best vantage point, a woman was standing on a "soapbox" in the middle of the road behind the crowd, so that the wreckage and the crowd were visible behind her as you faced her. She had painted herself and her elaborate costume entirely copper oxide-green, as she held Lady Liberty's torch high and posed for photos with people as the Statue of Liberty. The sign on the money jar in front of her, accepting donations, claimed that she had raised $10,500 so far. She explained to onlookers that her friends had urged her to stay and raise $11, 500. Then, encouraged by the large crowd and increasing donations, she hesitantly proclaimed that maybe she would try and raise...ONE HUNDRED and ten thousand dollars in a YEAR! Cheers went up. A bit of comic relief. (Kinda' made one wonder about the approaching New York winter and her day job.) Reports are that overall, some $800 Million has been raised so far (I watched part of the NY benefit concert from Josiah's hotel suite that evening with his brothers and friends). But that will never substitute for the lives lost and shattered. I felt fortunate to be in New York to participate in a happy celebration of two lives moving forward against that larger backdrop.

The views from where the crowd stood were somewhat more distant than one might have expected after seeing all the close-up photos bombarding us over the preceding weeks. But the impact was much greater. The cranes were still working away as clouds of smoke occasionally wafted in and out of view. Across the street, one police officer was wearing a gas mask. The NASDAQ building was entirely surrounded by a fence with workers inside. Others buildings were draped in mesh to keep falling debris from injuring people. And one of the low buildings was nothing but a burned out shell. It was an eerie feeling.

A week before, one month to the day from 9.11.01, many of my friends from the advanced television industry had gathered for an industry symposium in Orlando. We commemorated The Events with a moment of silence, prayer and reflection. Three of us later recalled the time two years ago, at a similar industry conference, when we had enjoyed a dinner together at Windows on the World on floor 107 atop Tower One, and another dinner in a restaurant at its base. Now I was looking at its smoking remains.

The sights, sounds and other sensations I experienced will stay with me always. Street vendors were everywhere, selling flag pins and scarves, NYPD/FD hats and buttons, and every variety of item proclaiming, "We will not forget!"

You may count me as part of We.



-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara Biller [mailto:bbiller@intellitech-inc.com]
Sent: Monday, October 22, 2001 9:00 AM
To: Walt/Nanette Melton; Tom/Sue Becke; Tom Akers; Steve/Doris Pollard; Ralph/Darlene Beachtel; Rachel Taylor; Meyer, Dee; LesMHeiJo@aol.com; Larry/Sharon Shock; Kevin Flanagan; Karen Millar; Katie Haley; Jud C. French; John K. LeBlanc; James Runser; Henry/Kym Thorpe; Harold Baumgartner; Durr, Anne M.; Don Zabel; David P. Drake; David J VanLeeuwen; Chris and Tosha Varner; Cheree.Ingram@carefirst.com; Cathy Gessner; Bob Welsh; Bell, Jacqueline; Abbett, David A
Subject: Fw: Canada come through

I received this from a friend of mine and wanted to share it.
----- Original Message -----
From: Vernon Morris
To: "Barbara L. Seboda"
Sent: Saturday, October 20, 2001 11:39 AM
Subject: Canada come through

With all the bad news we have suffered, I thought you might enjoy some good
news.

********************************************************************************
***

E-MAIL FROM A DELTA AIRLINES PILOT

Re: September 11, 2001

We were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt flying over the North Atlantic
and I was in my crew rest seat taking my scheduled rest break. All of a
sudden the curtains parted violently and I was told to go to the
cockpit, right now, to see the captain.

As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had one of those "All Business"
looks on their faces. The
captain handed me a printed message. I quickly read the message and
realized the importance of it. The message was from Atlanta, addressed
to our flight, and simply said, "All airways over the Continental US are
closed. Land ASAP at the nearest airport, advise your destination."

Now, when a dispatcher tells you to land immediately without suggesting
which airport, one can assume that the dispatcher has reluctantly given
up control of the flight to the captain. We knew it was a serious
situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. It was quickly
determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles away in Gander, Newfoundland.

A quick request was made to the Canadian traffic controller and a right
turn, directly to Gander, was approved immediately. We found out later
why there was no hesitation by the Canadian controller.

We, the in-flight crew, were told to get the airplane ready for
an immediate landing. While this was going on another message arrived
from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York
area. We briefed the in-flight crew about going to Gander and we went
about our business 'closing down' the airplane for a landing.

A few minutes later I went back to the cockpit to find out that some
airplanes had been hijacked and were being flown into buildings all over
the US. We decided to make an announcement and LIE to the passengers for
the time being. We told them that an instrument problem had arisen on
the airplane and that we needed to land at Gander, to have it checked.
We promised to give more information after landing in Gander. There were
many unhappy passengers but that is par for the course. We landed in
Gander about 40 minutes after the start of this episode.

There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over
the world. After we parked on the ramp the captain made the following
announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these
airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. But the
reality is that we are here for a good reason." Then he went on to
explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the US. There were
loud gasps and stares of disbelief.

Local time at Gander was 12:30 pm. Gander control told us
to stay put. No one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the
ground was allowed to come near the aircrafts. Only a car from the
airport police would come around once in a while, look us over and go on
to the next airplane. In the next hour or so all the airways over the
North Atlantic were vacated and Gander alone ended up with 53 airplanes
from all over the world, out of which 27 were flying US flags. We were
told that each and every plane was to be offloaded, one at a time, with
the foreign carriers given the priority. We were No.14 in the US
category. We were further told that we would be given a tentative time
to deplane at 6 pm.

Meanwhile bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and
for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World
Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC. People were trying
to use their cell phones but were unable to connect due to a different
cell system in Canada. Some did get through but were only able to get to
the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the US were
either blocked or jammed and to try again.

Some time late in the evening the news filtered to us that the World
Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had
resulted in a crash. Now the passengers were totally bewildered and
emotionally exhausted but stayed calm as we kept reminding them to look
around to see that we were not the only ones in this predicament. There
were 52 other planes with people on them in the same situation. We also
told them that the Canadian Government was in charge and we were at
their mercy.

At 6 PM Gander airport told us that our turn to
deplane would come at 11 AM, the next morning. That took the last wind
out of the passengers and they simply resigned and accepted this news
without much noise and really started to get into a mode of spending the
night on the airplane. Gander had promised us any and all medical
attention if needed; medicine, water, and lavatory servicing. And they
were true to their word. Fortunately we had no medical situation during
the night. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy.
We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without any further
complications on our airplane despite the uncomfortable sleeping
arrangements.

About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th we were told to get ready to
leave the aircraft. A convoy of school buses showed up at the side of
the airplane, the stairway was hooked up and the passengers were taken
to the terminal. We, the crew, were taken to the same
terminal but were told to go to a different section, where we were
processed through Immigration and customs and then had to register with
the Red Cross. After that we were isolated from our passengers and were
taken in a caravan of vans to a very small hotel in the town of Gander.
We had no idea where our passengers were going.

The town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people. Red Cross told us
that they were going to process about 10,500 passengers from all the
airplanes that were forced into Gander. We were told to just relax at
the hotel and wait for a call to go back to the airport, but not to
expect that call for awhile. We found out the total scope of the terror
back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24
hours after it all started.

Meanwhile we enjoyed ourselves going around town discovering things and
enjoying the hospitality. The people were so friendly and they just knew
that we were the "Plane people". We all had a great time until we got
that call, 2 days later, on the 14th at 7AM.

We made it to the airport by 8:30AM and left for Atlanta at 12:30 PM.

What the passengers told us was so uplifting and incredible.
We found out that Gander and the surrounding
small communities, within a 75 Kilometer radius, had closed all the high
schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places.
They converted all these facilities into a mass lodging area. Some had
cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up. ALL
the high school students HAD to volunteer taking care of the "GUESTS".
Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45
Kilometers from Gander. There they were put in a high school. If any
women wanted to be in a women only facility, that was arranged. Families
were kept together. All the elderly passengers
were taken to private homes.

Remember that young pregnant lady, she was put up in a private home
right across the street from a 24 hour Urgent Care type facility. There
were Doctors on call and they had both male and female nurses available
and stayed with the crowd for the duration. Phone calls and emails to US
and Europe were available for everyone once a day.

During the days the passengers were given a choice of "Excursion" trips.
Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went to
see the local forests. Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread
for the guests. Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to
the school for those who elected to stay put. Others were driven to the
eatery of their choice and fed. They were given tokens to go to the
local Laundromat to wash their clothes, since their luggage was still on
the aircraft. In other words, the Newfoundlanders met every single need
of their stranded guests.

Passengers were crying while telling us these
stories. After all that, they were delivered to the airport right on
time and without a single one missing or late. All because the local Red
Cross had all the information about the goings on back at Gander and
knew which group needed to leave for the airport at what time.
Absolutely incredible.

When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise.
Everybody knew everybody else by their name. They were swapping stories
of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. It
was mind boggling. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a party
flight. We simply stayed out of their way. The passengers had totally
bonded and they were calling each other by their first names, exchanging
phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses.

And then a strange thing happened. One of our business class passengers
approached me and asked if he could speak over the PA to his fellow
passengers. We never, never, allow that. But something told me to get
out of his way. I said "of course". The gentleman picked up the PA and
reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few
days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands
of the Newfoundlanders. He further stated that he would like to do something
in return for the good folks of the town of Lewisporte. He said he was
going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight
number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide a scholarship for
high school students of Lewisporte to help them go to college. He
asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers.

When the paper bag with donations got back to us it totaled $14,000 or about
$20,000
Canadian. The gentleman who started all this turned out to be an MD from
Virginia. He promised to match the donations and to start the
administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would
forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well.

Why, all of this? Just because some people in a far away place were kind
to some strangers, who happened to literally drop in among them!

--
Vernon B. Morris, Jr.
vmorris@bcpl.net
vmorris@juno.com

Mon, 22 Oct 2001 16:58:14 -0400

RE: Canada came through Reply: And NY will persevere