Sept 11th
I have been seeing a lot of posts about what happened in New York on this day in 2001. There is a wide variety of feelings on the matter from near irrational hatred to "let's leave it alone." As I was not living in the US when this happened, I have a different memory of the events from the out pouring of grief, shock, sympathy and hostility. All justifiable feelings, but I would like to share something else. All religious and political analysis aside, here's what happened on, what was then, my side of the border.
As soon as the US was aware that this was a terrorist attack, they closed down all airports in the country. The border was shut down and no one could enter or leave the US. Many US bound flights were re-routed to Canadian airports and many travelers were stranded on "foreign" soil. They couldn't go home and they had no idea when they would be able to leave. There was not enough hotel space to put up all the unexpected transient visitors on such short notice. People all over the country opened their homes to travelers who had to alter plans on a moment's notice and had no idea how to handle the situation. Their ordeals were made much easier by the locals who at least gave them a place to stay and a base of operations for as long as it took for them to make arrangements to get home. One of my favorite tales was from a couple in Nova Scotia, I believe it was, when they put up some people from Arizona. When they left, they invited their new friends to come to Arizona and stay with them for a little while. A few weeks later, they received a letter in the mail expressing heartfelt thanks AND a pair of plane tickets to Arizona with an invitation for an extended visit.
Even the most horrific events can have some good come of them. Diplomatic ties may remain fragile in some parts of the world, but we can also see where things like this bring out the best in people. There have always been close economic and diplomatic ties between Canada and the US, even though we do have our differences. I myself have many friends on both sides of the border, all of whom I treasure. Acts like the one we saw all those years ago have had far reaching effects we still feel to this day. I'd rather not see remembrance of these people doing the unthinkable and killing themselves and taking thousands with them. Let us acknowledge that and see where we can find some common ground and co-exist. As far as we know, this is the only world we have, folks. We ALL have to make the best of it. Let us all take care of each other.