Thursday Things to Like

Thing 1: I like how people unite to help out strangers in their time of need.

Perhaps you have heard this story.
  Just After the  9/11 attack, air space over the United States was closed and all flights in the air were diverted and ordered to land elsewhere. 67 of those planes landed at a town in Newfoundland and Labrador called Gander that has a population of about ten thousand people. " 6ooo people came for supper" was the way what happened next was talked about.  What followed was a  marvel in terms of the effort it took for the Gander townspeople to house, feed, and generally care for all those people over the next 5 days.  I remember how the plane people (as they were called), many of them tearful and scared, were told over and over, you are safe here, you are among friends.

 So much has been written about their time together, the Newfoundlanders and the plane people ...interviews, articles, a couple of books and there is even a play that it has made its way to Broadway.  "Come From Aways" is what the old people called people from somewhere else, not Newfoundland.  The Broadway show by the same name, Come From Away, just opened and has been receiving good reviews.
It is a little surreal that a story about my birthplace, Gander, has made its way to Broadway, of all places.
A further note, I should mention that people were travelling with pets so there was a contingency plan to also walk, feed and water all the pets on the planes which btw, included two apes being transported to a zoo.

I'm proud of this story, not just because I am a Newfoundlander, but because it shows how people can step forward in hard times and look after each other even those who are strangers.  It is a human story of good and hope and kindness.
I'd like it even better if we could be like this all the time no matter the circumstance.

Here are a couple of videos and links if you want to see the stories of people and their gratitude for their treatment.  There were lasting friendships made and even a love story.

A Tiny Town Opens Its Hearts

9/11: Operation Yellow Ribbon

Gander's Gift

The New York Times Review of Come From Away

Thing 2:  Having something to love, something to cherish

A very different 'like'.
Here is Older grandson's most precious possession.  He named him Old Bear and it has been his 'lovey' since he was 3 months old.  He loved it so much and slept with it every night.  Old Bear has a tiny rattle inside and my daughter would know when her baby was awake when she'd hear the little rattle.

  As you all know, if your child has a lovey, you have a responsibility to not lose it.  We worried so much about how upset he'd be if something happened to Old Bear that I searched for a year to find an identical bear.  I finally found one on ebay.  Though grandson accepted him, gave him the name of Brother, it was never accorded the same level of love as Old Bear.

Old Bear did have one grand adventure. Returning from vacation one summer, the back pack he was travelling in got left behind in Toronto airport when we changed planes. The phone calls that night were frantic but the wonderful folks at West Jet personally tracked him down and had him waiting at Ottawa airport the next morning. When I picked up the back pack, there was a note attached saying "Child's Bear Toy" with a star beside it.   What a relief.

Old Bear, like the Velveteen Rabbit, has been loved bare.  I've had to do major repairs over the years including darning large areas.

  At 12 now, Old Bear is still by grandson's bed. Just recently we chatted about what to do with him and grandson wondered if we can put him in a shadow box like he saw at his aunt's house.  To somehow keep him forever. What a good idea.

Hop over to  Not Afraid of Color to see what the fine folks there are liking this week.