The Day the World Came to Town

Book: The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
Basic Information : Synopsis : Characters : Expectations : Thoughts : Evaluation : Book Group : Book References : Good Quotes : Table of Contents : References

Basic Information:

Author: Jim DeFede

Edition: ePub on Overdrive from the Fresno County Public Library

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

ISBN: 0060559713 (ISBN13: 9780060559717)

Start Date: August 13, 2019

Read Date: August 16, 2019

256 pages

Genre: History,

Language Warning: None

Rated Overall: 4 out of 5

History: 3 out of 5

Synopsis (Caution: Spoiler Alert-Jump to Thoughts):

Planes in flight are caught with their intended airports closed to them on 9/11. 39 planes landed in Gander, Newfoundland. How does a small town care for an influx of foreigners about half of their population? Defede tells this story of passengers being unloaded from planes and whisked away to be fed at waiting lodging through out the region. The stories are personal and heart-tugging.

Cast of Characters:

• Lopers-Clark, Roxanne and Alexandria: Just adapted Alexandria in Kazakhstan. Returning back to Texas.
• Roth, Petra-mayor of Frankfurt
• Werner Baldessarini-chairman of Hugo Boss
• Vitale, George-New York State Trooper who was in Ireland to plan security for New York governor's visit. Returning home he threw himself into the work. It was only when a call from Newfoundland came unexpectedly, he let himself go.
• O'Rouke, Hannah-Visited Ireland. Lost her son in one of the towers in New York on 9/11.
• O'Driscoll, Maria and Lenny-Visiting Ireland. Classical violinist
• Fast, Barbara-General, chief intelligence for US military, overseeing Europe, Asia, and some of the Middle East
• Cash, Bill-owned a company which builds off-shore oil platforms.
• Farrar, Deborah-got romantic with Greg Curtis, also a passenger who was stranded. Unknown in 2002 how the romance will turn out.
• Briels, Clemens-Not talked about in the book. But when he left, he left a drawing. Turns out the Briels is a world class artist who was one of the offical artists for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
• Syak, Rabbi Leivi-Orthodox Jew
• Gray-Felder, Denise-vice-president of the Rockefeller Fund. Donated funds for school computers and for people in need.
• Zale, Lisa-lived in a tent while in Gander, by choice.
• Wood, Sara-lived in a tent while in Gander, by choice.
• Berenson, Marisa-Super-model
• Elliott, Claude-mayor of Gander
• Fudge, Oz-one of two constables in Gander
• Harris, Bonnie-Looked after the animals
• Humbly, Linda-Looked after the animals
• Tucker, Vi-looked after the animals
• Smith, Eithne-Worker in Gander who befriended the Jewish community
• O'Reilly, Harold-a lead supervisor of air traffic controllers at Gander
• MacLeaod, Bruce-Gander resident who helped out making sure everyone was taken care of no matter how late.
• Shepard, Rose-Irish resident of Gander
• Knoth, Captain Reinhard-Lufthansa pilot. Arranged for his passengers to make it to New York city. But those who wanted to return to Europe, he had arranged for an immediate return flight.

Expectations:

Recommendation: Margaret from Book Group

When: August 2019

Date Became Aware of Book: Early on, but more in article form

How come do I want to read this book: Book group

What do I think I will get out of it? Interesting human aspect

Thoughts:

• Introduction
  • What kind of people are the people of Newfoundland? Combination of English and Irish. Their language was akin to Shakespeare. The speech seems to be more of third person present.
  • Newfoundlanders (or Newfies) lean on each other to help and survive. Was this because it was a small community?
  • A local song called No price tags on the doors of Newfoundland sums up the mentality of the island.
  • The people of Newfoundland dropped what they were doing, placing their lives on hold, and gave of themselves. Why?
  • The conclusion is the terrorists meant to expose the Western world’s weakness; Gandor showed its strength.
• Day One
  • Chapter One
    • Described the various passengers on some of the planes and why they were making the trip.
    • The streets of Gander are laid out to resemble a goose.
  • Chapter Two
    • Air space in the US was closed. Planes in foreign territory could not enter the US. Planes were rerouted to airports in Canada. Gander was the one furthest to the east. There was the realization at over 12,000 people could be coming to a town of 29,000.
  • Chapter Three
    • Describes the reactions of passengers when their plane was rerouted.
    • Werner Baldessarini, Hugo Boss’ chairman was also part of the crowd which got trapped at Gander. His revelation was that his worries was small compared to what had happened. Priorities changed.
  • Chapter Four
    • Describes how a sleepy town became the center of activity for arriving planes.
    • Symbolic of the type of effect and spirit of 9/11 on Gander is the bus drivers. They had been on strike. When they understood the magnitude of the problems, they returned to drive their buses.
    • One town’s person who experienced the day described the close of the day like driving on an icy road in a snowstorm. You do not know how scared you were until you arrived home.
  • Chapter Five
    • Deplaning passengers in Canada. The process and what happened to them
    • A comment was that it was amazing that none of the passengers were cranky or complaining-all seemed to be in good spirits.
    • The people of Gander were very accommodating, trying to meet all the needs of each passenger.
    • Reactions when people saw the video on 9/11 ranged from shock, anger, sadness, and disbelief. But also pride, the pride of being an American and that our nation would stand up to the terrorist and not give in. What was your reactions to 9/11?
    • The President's speech. How did his words affect you on that day? Now?
• Day Two
  • Chapter Six
    • Gander residents were opening up their homes and lives to the plane people.
    • How do I assist when people are in need?
  • Chapter Seven
    • While the passengers were being taken care of, was their animals on-board which needed looking after? Can they be taken off of the planes? This included the usual assortment of dogs and cats, but also some more exotic animals such as Bonobo monkeys.
  • Chapter Eight
    • Flight 5 becomes a party plane. Even when off-loaded, it is more party on the ground. What made this a party plane:
      • Recognition that 9/11 was a tragic day, That being cooped up in a plane was minor to what was happening in New York and Washington DC
      • Griping would not do them any good
      • Flight crew unlocked the liquor carts.
  • Chapter Nine
    • One of the specialized issues facing the hosts was specific dietary needs. In particular the Orthodox Jewish community.
    • Question: How could somebody do something so evil, something that adversely affected so many innocent lives? What constitutes the evilness about this action? The size? The killing? How about when American's kill others?
  • Chapter Ten
    • More on Newfoundland hospitality, only thing in a smaller town.
• Day Three
  • Chapter Eleven
    • More on Newfoundland hospitality, only thing in a smaller town.
    • The question comes up again, why would anyone take so many innocent lives?
  • Chapter Twelve
    • More on Newfoundland hospitality-this time with toys for children. Plus other things of need
    • Does Jamie know about the Bonobo monkey's? Also are they closer to being human than any other animal?
  • Chapter Thirteen
    • Some of the issues facing the passengers, such as Werner Baldessarini. He found himself hunting for underwear at WalMart. Dissatisfied with what he found, his staff found a fashion store which carried Hugo Boss items and the owner hand carried the clothing to him.
  • Chapter Fourteen
    • Some of the passengers think they have landed in another world-a world of trust and courtesy. On the other hand, some of the visitors were high up people, such as those running the Rockefeller foundation. When asked how materials would be returned back to those who loaned them, the reply was, it did not matter.
  • Chapter Fifteen
    • Time to start getting prepared to leave Newfoundland. Would they be returning to Europe or the US? Most preferred the US. But other forces would play into this as well. Some passengers resisted going back to Europe when informed late in the process.
• Day Four
  • Chapter Sixteen
    • Adventures of getting out of Canada by land. Car rentals cannot be taken across the border, hurricane might hit land, closing the ferry route. Or getting out by air-the airspace in the US was only beginning to open up and not all airports were available.
    • While many of the passengers were getting cranky with the uncertainty, some like Baldessarini was enjoying experience life more as a common person rather than being pampered. He realized the hospitality he was experiencing was something which was not easily dismissed or ignored.
    • What is a community? To the Rabbi, it was a group of people bound by faith and common values. The Rabbi understood from his work with drug addicts in London that there are good people in the world. He realized that the people of Newfoundland were among them. Why were so many people in London either tried or were addicted to drugs while here in Newfoundland, only one eighth of that number were? The Rabbi realized it was this sense of community and working with each other to better them.
  • Chapter Seventeen
    • Talks about the Newfoundland Screeching-In ceremony. This is where a visitor becomes an honorary Newfie. Some of the passengers took part in this. There were other goodbye celebrations as well
• Days Five and Six
  • Chapter Eighteen
    • Everybody is going home. Some get to see a bit more of Newfoundland than others as their hosts would take them back to the airport via a scenic route. Romance was part of the adventure. When it came to leave, would the romance continue? One of the moving stories is a closet Jew came to see the Rabbi and get counseling about how to be Jewish. He had been part of the Polish exodus of children.
    • The Rabbi sums it up the best:
      • the generosity she and others at the school had shown would be remembered and celebrated for a very long time. Their actions were more than just taking in passengers whose flights had been delayed. The Newfoundlanders had provided a caring haven for hundreds of people at a moment when they were scared and far from home. They were made to feel safe and secure when the world around them seemed anything but.
  • Chapter Nineteen
    • The two families going by land. Others were taking round about ways to get back. The Rabbi could not travel on the Sabbath nor on Rosh Hashanah. So his travel plans were tight, but some Newfoundlanders found a way to make it work.
    • We never know when a far off tragedy will affect us. That is a lesson which Gander was taught with 9/11.
    • Interesting reaction. The province government let Gander know that they would provide funds for a “thank you” party. The town leadership accepted. But the townspeople did not think it would be right to have a celebration while there was so much tragedy in the world.
• Epilogue
  • Chapter wraps up the stories of those who the book follows. Goes through life back in the US, reunions between passengers and towns people, and things passengers did to return thanks for the goodness they felt in Gander.

It is noted that Gander is laid out with a duck head. Here is an image from Google Earth:

Evaluation:

 This is a feel-good story about the day of and following 9/11. Planes were still in the air approaching the United States with their destination airports closed. Many of them turned back or were able to land at major airports in Canada. But several of them, 39 planes, landed in Gander, once a thriving stop over town for both military and civilian planes, but now more a place to land in an emergency.

How does a town of 29,000 handle the influx of 12,000 passengers, to be kept for an unknown number of days? Friendly hospitality is the answer. Apparently Gander and the region excels in this. Defede tells the stories of several passengers and townspeople. All of them heartwarming. Most of them are common people, a few prominent.

It is a good, quick read, guaranteed to make you realize there are good hearted people in this world. The book is written about a year after 9/11, so the stories were fresh in people's minds. Just the after stories are a bit cut short.

 
Notes from my book group:

What would your reaction be to debarking from a plane in a different country than you expected?

Picture yourself as one of the crew of one of the planes when you were still flight. What reactions would you have had when you first heard. What considerations would you be faced with? Would you have told the passengers what happened? When would you tell them?

One of the reactions which passengers had when they found out about the events of 9/11 was wondering if there was a terriorist among themselves. How can you tell who is a terrorist?

Was Gander and the region prepared for this emergency? How did they react when they realized the magnitude of the problem? How do you think Fresno would react in a similar circumstance? Is there a difference? Why? The question which I asked myself while reading this book is, “how do I help those in need?”

When you heard about the towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon being hit, what were you doing? What was your reaction? What did you do? Did you listen to the president's speech that day? What were your thoughts when he was talking? Now?

How could somebody do something so evil, something that adversely affected so many innocent lives? What constitutes the evilness about this action? The size? The killing? How about when American's kill others?

Werner Baldessarini realization was that he was involved with something special. Even though he could leave, he did not want to. What made him stay? What made it special to him? What can we learn from his reaction?

The Rabbi raises the question, What is community? What was his answer? Is this true? What would be your answer? Do you experience community? What does a sense of community bring to you?

The Rabbi sums it up the best:

the generosity she and others at the school had shown would be remembered and celebrated for a very long time. Their actions were more than just taking in passengers whose flights had been delayed. The Newfoundlanders had provided a caring haven for hundreds of people at a moment when they were scared and far from home. They were made to feel safe and secure when the world around them seemed anything but.

Many of these questions are either from or adapted from LitLovers.

• Why the title of The Day the World Came to Town?
• How would you classify this book? Does it work for you?
• Did the ending seem fitting? Satisfying? Predictable?
• Which character were you most drawn to? Which you wanted to know more about? Less about?
  • Which character did you identify with?
  • Which one did you dislike?
• Every story has a world view. Were you able to identify this story’s world view? What was it? How did it affect the story?
• In what context was religion talked about in this book?
• Was there anybody you would consider religious?
  • How did they show it?
  • Was the book overtly religious?
  • How did it affect the books story?
• Why do you think the author wrote this book?
  • If the author wrote the book today, how do you think he would write it 18 years after the incident?
• What would you ask the author if you had a chance?
• What “take aways” did you have from this book?
• Describe the culture talked about in the book.
  • How is the culture described in this book different than where we live?
  • What economic or political situations are described?
  • Does the author examine economics and politics, family traditions, the arts, religious beliefs, language or food?
• How did this book affect your view of the world?
  • Of how God is viewed?
  • What questions did you ask yourself after reading this book?
• Talk about specific passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...?
  • What was memorable?

From the Mini Book Bytes blog:

:

The Day of the Attack:

• Do you remember where you were when you first heard about the terrorist acts on 9/11? What were your initial reactions? How did these reactions change as the day want on? How was it different for us living in the Midwest compared to people living closer to the attacks?
• Were you watching TV that day? What role did the media play in the way viewers reacted to the attacks? At the time, what were some of the images that made an impression on you?
• When Mineta ordered the planes down, “…the US was effectively passing the potential threat posed by these planes onto” Canada…Despite the risk, Canada didn’t hesitate. 6 Discuss. Do you think this was fair?
• On P. 19, DeFede talks about Captain Knoth. As he waited for instruction, he wondered about the people on his plane. How would you have felt as a pilot or flight attendant? What would you have told your passengers? How would you have felt as a passenger?
• On p. 61, DeFede writes about one of the passengers studying her fellow passengers and wondering: What does a terrorist look like? She didn’t know. Think about the word “terrorist” for a moment. What images/stereotypes come to mind? Where do these stereotypes come from? How do we break down these stereotypes?

Gander:

• Has anyone visited Gander?
• Discuss the culture of Gander. How does it differ from yours? Is anyone from a small town?
• Discuss the importance of Gander in getting the planes down quickly & safely.
• Are there any stories that stood out? Please share specific quotes or passages.
• Some passengers craved news, others wanted to avoid it. Discuss.
• Would you invite strangers into your home? Why or why not?
• Discuss the Screeching-In ceremony in Chapter 17. Does your family or hometown have special celebrations? If so, tell us about them.
• After all the passengers left, the people of Gander turned down a party. Why? How do you think the people of Gander felt after everything was over? Discuss the Newfie way. (Chap. 19)

Returning Home:

• Everyone has a different way of coping with stress. When it came time to get back on the planes, “…there was genuine fear among the flight crews,…” 173 Consider the events of 9/11 & imagine having to get back on a plane. How would you have felt? How would you have handled it?
• In Chapter 15 when the Lopers discover that their flight is not going back to the U.S. as planned, but returning to Germany, they decide to drive. They had to figure out their own way home. What would you have done?
• The chairman of Hugo Boss, Baldessarini could have gone home on a private jet. Instead he returned with his fellow passengers. He said,”… flying home while the others were left behind would have been an act of betrayal of everything that had happened over the last 72 hours. He would go when the others went…He was in this until the end.” 194 Discuss his reasoning. What would you have done?
• Do you feel differently after these events when you fly? Do you still fly? Do you feel safe?

The Legacy of 9/11:

• Discuss some of the other stories from 9/11.
• How did life in America change after 9/11? Who was most affected by these changes?
• Did the story make you question any of your own beliefs?
• How did the events of September 11 bring out both the “worst” & the “best” in people?
• Have the events of 9/11 changed your daily lives in a positive way? In a negative way?
• What is the legacy of 9/11? What does it mean to live in a post-9/11 world?
• Would you change any of the policies or laws that have been put in place since 9/11?

About the author & the book:

• Why did the author open the book the way he did? (the adoption story)
• Is the author’s background reflected in the book? Discuss the writing style. This was the author’s first book. Was the writing accessible to readers at large?
• What is original about this book? How is it different from other books?
• What was the author’s attitude towards his subject. How do you think the author was changed by the experience of writing the book.
• What did you think about the title of the book? Why was it titled that way? Can you think of an alternative title?
• What’s the overall message the author is trying to convey?

Wrap-up:

• For the person who chose the book, why did you select it?
• Did you know anything about this event prior to reading this book?
• What preconceived notions did you have about 9/11 before reading this book? Did these change after reading the book?
• Did you learn something new? If so, what was it? If not, how did the author fail?
• Did you learn anything new about yourself as you read the book? Please share.
• Do the issues raised in this book affect your life now? In the future? How so?
• Did this book broaden your perspective of the world? In what way?
• Has reading this book changed your opinion of person or events?
• FYI – There is a Broadway musical called “Come From Away.” Do you think it would make a good movie? Who would you pick to direct & star in it?
• Rate the book from 1 – 5. What are the book’s strengths and weaknesses? Would you recommend this book to readers who don’t read nonfiction? Why?

Book References:

• Dictionary of Newfoundland English

Good Quotes:

• First Line: “Where are you going?”
• Last Line: Walking through the entrance, Roxanne said the only thing that made sense in that moment, two words she’d waited more than a week to say: “We’re home.”

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Day One
  • Chapter One
  • Chapter Two
  • Chapter Three
  • Chapter Four
  • Chapter Five
• Day Two
  • Chapter Six
  • Chapter Seven
  • Chapter Eight
  • Chapter Nine
  • Chapter Ten
• Day Three
  • Chapter Eleven
  • Chapter Twelve
  • Chapter Thirteen
  • Chapter Fourteen
  • Chapter Fifteen
• Day Four
  • Chapter Sixteen
  • Chapter Seventeen
• Days Five and Six
  • Chapter Eighteen
  • Chapter Nineteen
• Epilogue

References:

• Publisher's Web Site for Book
• Author's Web Site And Facebook
• Amazon-Book
• Amazon-Author
• Barnes and Noble
• GoodReads-Book
• GoodReads-Author
• Huffington Post review
• Mini Book Bytes blog
• A Book Lover’s blog