A LETTER OF THANKS
California, U.S.A.
This was an e-mail sent by a gentleman who was stranded in Moncton for several days at the Moncton Coliseum as a result of the terrorist attacks on the United States. I wanted to share this with all of you, and share my pride in being a Monctonian. This man's letter touched my heart, and most importantly, my spirit. It renewed my faith and hope in mankind, as I'm sure it will yours. This is what makes the entire situation real to us all, and connects us as a species - our ability to truly care for one another, regardless of race, color, sex, country, or class.
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-----Original Message-----
From: Justin Zackham [SMTP:[email protected]]
Sent: September 15, 2001 3:13 AM
Mayor Brian Murphy and members of the City Council of Moncton, New Brunswick
Dear Mr. Mayor,
I am writing you having just arrived back at my home in Los Angeles. I am
one of the "stranded passengers" that had the profound opportunity to
spend the past three days as a guest of your beautiful town of Moncton,
New Brunswick.
Words cannot fully express my gratitude, admiration and honest love for
the people of Moncton. From the first moment we disembarked from the plane
on Tuesday, the reception we - a mass of grumpy, confused and hungry
passengers - received from the RCMP and the Red Cross was cheerful,
respectful and welcoming. At the time, we had no knowledge of the events
in New York and Washington, only that we had been grounded "somewhere in
Canada" and that America was under some sort of attack.
Even while we sat in shock after our first glimpses of the WTC attack on
CNN, several people commented on how incredibly friendly and discreetly
empathetic the police and volunteers were. That a large-screen television
had been prepared in the airport hangar so that we could view the events
for ourselves evidenced a remarkable touch of forethought and caring.
While truly meaningful, this was a pale precursor to the overflowing of
warmth we received over the course of the next three days. I know I can
speak for all of the stranded passengers when I say that you shaped, what
should have been, an unbearable situation into something we will never
(for the better)forget. There are too many people to thank and too many
wonderful stories to relate, though I will tell you that as the plane
taxied away from the terminal on Thursday night, there was a universal
cheer of gratitude and many tears of sadness at leaving all of you.
I myself have come home to find two friends lost in the attack on the
World Trade Center. My view of humanity has ebbed and flowed as I try to
reconcile the images on television with the faces of those I have lost.
That evil does exist in the world is no longer in question. That human
beings could willingly murder thousands of innocents has an explanation
that lies infinitely beyond my meager powers of comprehension.
And yet for me, even the worst features of this cloud will forever be
tempered by the smiles and hugs and sandwiches and apples and sodas and
big screen TV's, and cellular phones and t-shirts and toothpaste and homes
and beds and couches and breakfast tables and buses and warmth and cheer
and laughter and tears and the amazing, enormous hearts of the people of
Moncton, NB. You will always be my silver lining.
Humbly, respectfully and gratefully yours,
Justin Zackham
TWA, Flight #721