It's been a hell of a week here in Gander. The stories are amazing. We had  38 aircraft with a total of 6656 people drop by for coffee. they stayed for  3 or four days. Our population is just under 10,000, so you can imagine the logistics involved in giving each of these people a place to sleep and hot meal three times a day.

Many of us spent our time bringing people home so they could get a shower or, once the rain started on the third day, driving  them to the mall or sight seeing to relieve their boredom. The diversity of  the people who have been in my car and in my shower over the past few days is pretty wild.

You should have seen the look on my little girl's face when three Muslim women came home with me for a shower. With their robes, she could only see their faces, hands and feet. Their hands and feet were covered  with Henna Paint and two of them didn't speak English. There was a King from the Middle East here. A British MP. The Mayor of Frankfurt Germany,  etc.etc.

There were also immigrants from all over the world, some of whom didn't  have two pennies to rub together. They all slept side by side in schools  and church halls. Except the Irish, of course! A flight from Ireland was put  up at a couple of local drinking establishments! The Royal Canadian Legiona  and the Elks Club. One woman here gave a driving tour to a fellow from the US. When she brought him back to his gymnasium cot, the exchanged cards. She  looked at his and said, "So you work with Best Western?" He replied, "No, I  own Best Western" 

You should have been here, but of course, there wouldn't have been room.

What an experience!

Scott Cook
cooks@navcanada.ca