Couples who met after the 9/11 attacks said that the kindness of strangers to them in the tragedy made them better people.
72-year-old Nick Mason and his current wife Diane 80, from London Gatwick Airport Flew to Houston, Texas, when their flight was redirected to with dozens of others Canada September 11, 2001.
The couple were two of the 7,000 who landed in Gander, a rural town in the United States. Newfoundland After the U.S. airspace was closed due to hijacked flights, the population was only 10,000.
The townspeople scrambled to welcome them. They called them “airplane people” and provided them with shelter, clothes and food, and even regarded them as “honorary Newfoundlanders, according to the local tradition called “Screech-In”. “Introduce their community.
Twenty years after landing in Canada, Marson described how this experience changed them.
Mr. Mason told the PA News Agency: “I think it makes me a better person. I try to be the best myself every day, be happy, make others happy, and make them laugh.
“We now need a world full of Newfoundlanders, because there is tension everywhere. people Shooting at each other is ridiculous.
“They need help from Newfoundlanders [attitude] Stay friendly and smile, be your best self, and be considerate of others. “
Mrs. Mason added: “You never know what the other person is going through. Give them some leeway.”
Mr. Marson, a former British product engineer, and Mrs. Kirschke, a former fashion buyer at the time, met in a shelter in the town and established contact during their five-day stay.
Two months later, before Mr. Mason made a proposal on the phone, they flew back to their homes in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire and Houston, Texas.
He moved to the United States shortly thereafter. The couple married on September 7, 2002 and spent their honeymoon in Newfoundland.
Their relationship is now immortal in the musical “Run Away”, an award-winning Tony and Olivier show that records the landing of 38 planes in Gander.
They have been keeping in touch with the people who have helped them and hope to return to town for the 10th time next year to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.
Mr. Mason said: “Since the 9/11 incident, this seems to have been only a few weeks or a few years ago. What keeps us fresh is the show.”
Mrs. Mason added: “It seems that 20 years have passed since we met. It was a blink of an eye. When we watched the show, it reminded us of how we met and how exciting it was.”
Although the couple were happy to find love in an unlikely place, they refused to discuss their stories with people outside the circle for several years due to the guilt of the survivors.
Mr. Mason said: “We thought,’Why such a wonderful thing happened when nearly 3,000 families were killed in their families?’ For a long time, we were not satisfied with this idea, we were not Will talk about it… even now, [the tragedy] Still very raw.
“It wasn’t until Tom Brokaw filmed a documentary about Operation Yellow Ribbon in 2009 that we decided to talk about it as a tribute to the people of Newfoundland.”
Summarizing their future plans, Mrs. Mason added: “We strive to make the most of every day because, in fact, we don’t know how long we are on this earth. We can do some great things every day. “
