I recently bought season tickets to my local community theater, The Village Players. When I saw that the package included Come From Away, my initial reaction was trepidation. This musical is about the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, where 38 planes were diverted during the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. At a moment’s notice, a town with a population of about 9,000 was put in the position of having to care for nearly 7,000 people from around the world for three days before planes were allowed to fly again. Twenty-five years after the tragedy, it still felt too soon for me to relive the details of that national tragedy. But when my friend told me that it was actually an uplifting musical, I thought I should keep my mind and heart open to it, so we went today.

The people of Gander quickly pooled their resources and pulled everyone together to care for the stranded passengers who spoke dozens of languages. They clothed them, fed them, let them take showers in their homes, entertained them, and simply loved them. Lifelong friendships were forged over those few days. As I saw the sacrifices made by the people of Gander (and surrounding towns), I remembered what Fred Rogers (aka Mr. Rogers) often said: “Look for the helpers. There are always people who are helping.” I thought about how easily people from around the world will connect and care for each other on a personal level despite powerful forces always trying to divide us and make us believe we hate each other. It made my heart ache, from both sadness and joy.

And while I laughed out loud many times during the production, I was also glad I had brought tissues because I was struggling not to burst into tears several times. I was thankful it was so dark in the theater because my whole body was trembling at one point as I tried to stifle my tears. I wanted to run outside and release it all but somehow I kept it together.

This experience made me think about how my therapist stresses the importance of processing grief so that it doesn’t roar back out of the blue years later and knock you down again. I’ve endured two big losses in the past few years and I’ve worked hard (and continue to work hard) to allow myself to feel the pain and to write about it in my journal. But maybe I didn’t do that enough with the 9/11 tragedy; I’m unsettled by the strength of my feelings today. I was transported back in time and my brain showed me the horrifying images again. So maybe I still have some grief processing to do.

There was a line in one of the songs in the musical that said something to the effect of ‘we all look the same but we’re different now,’ and that nearly broke me. Our world changed in fundamental ways after that day, and the repercussions continue in our personal lives, government policies, airport security procedures, and a million other ways. I can clearly remember watching it happen live on television that day, and how it shook me to my core to realize there are people who hated us that much. I know I was a changed person after that moment.

I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia a few weeks ago and Canadians have been on my mind a lot since my visit. (Forty planes carrying another 7,000 people were diverted to the Halifax airport on 9/11.) While I was in Halifax, the trade talks between Prime Minister Carney and the American president broke down. I felt such shame while I was there, but also did not look forward to returning across the border to the center of all the chaos. Our government has treated our Canadian friends so despicably, and it breaks my heart. I’ve shared some photos from my Halifax visit in this post, but I’m thinking that I might do a separate post to show you the full collection of public art photos I took. I know of at least one of my subscribers who would really dig that.

I didn’t know much about Halifax before my trip but I learned a lot after visiting two of their large museums and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Halifax was a major immigration gateway to Canada in the way that Ellis Island was for my country. Their Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 was fabulous; I especially loved the short film with clips from people who had immigrated to Canada from all over the world. It was so emotional listening to them saying why they loved and felt welcome in Canada, and I heard people in the theater saying it made them proud to be Canadian. It hurt my heart that I couldn’t feel the same about my country after the harm our government has been doing to people everywhere. I think the American people still see Canadians and other people of the world as friends, but our government apparently does not.

If you have a chance to see a live performance of Come From Away, I highly recommend it. Today was cathartic for me and I find myself now wanting to read the book that inspired this musical. It’s called The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander Newfoundland by Jim Defede. (I’ve just discovered that there’s a version of it streaming on Apple TV if you have that service.)

And in case any Canadians are reading this, I’m profoundly grateful for the way the citizens of your country stepped up to care for so many who needed it. I say this not only as an American but as a human being. Mr. Rogers would’ve been so proud of you.

Stay tuned for a more complete Halifax photo post soon!