A Pakistani passenger – a citizen of U.K - was subjected to a lengthy interview by Canadian Secret Service agents on hand, yet he showed extreme grace in being singled out, humorously telling the group that he was shown a picture of someone and asked “is this you?”. The individual pictured, presumed to be a suspect, was tall, thin and bore absolutely no facial resemblance to the shorter and obviously unrelated passenger.

He further added that the agents were unfailingly polite and even somewhat apologetic about having to detain and interview him, and he came away with a sense of being glad that the agents were being thorough in their work.

Karen and Linda (second row left) with members of their multinational group of friends made during the week.

Days were remarkably similar – “you ate, you slept and you waited for news, read the paper and talked to others, trying for the most part not to dwell on the tragedy too much,” Seid offers. “Most of us could only stand watching the news on TV for 15 minutes at a time and then you had to try to think about something else. It was really so hard to grasp, especially being stranded so far from home.”

“The bonding of the people was the most amazing part,” Anderson continues. “You could just be walking around the camp and see someone upset and not feel inhibited at all about walking right up to them, asking ‘are you OK’? And suddenly you’d find yourself sitting with a man from Belgium or a woman from Greece, talking about whatever. People dropped their pretenses, their barriers, and it was the most heartening thing.”

Reaction among the international group was unanimous as to the horror of the tragedy, but opinions about possible U.S. response were varied. Many expressed concerns that the U.S. would respond immediately with a knee-jerk military action of destruction, a very real possibility but proven unfounded with the benefit of hindsight.

“It was also interesting to hear their opinions that they wouldn’t be allowed to enter the U.S., that our borders would be completely shut to international visitors,” Anderson adds, noting that concern, too, went unfounded.

By Friday (9/14), there were rumors that planes would be released, that maybe everyone was going home. It was a nerve-racking time, with airliners from Lufthansa and British Airways returned to Europe. It turns out that U.S.-based carriers would be allowed to carry on to their original destinations, but others were turned back to their point of origin.

A big “thank you” to their hosts from some very grateful guests.

Passengers were reunited with their luggage as they were herded back on to the school bus that would take them to the airport. One woman came up with a wonderful gesture, suggesting that all passengers donate all of their leftover Canadian currency to the Red Cross, a suggestion that proved understandably popular.

Following two hours navigating airport security, where their Swiss Army Knives were confiscated, along with a variety of cosmetic items like nail files and tweezers, Anderson and Seid were finally en route to Boston’s Logan Airport. “One guy’s socks were almost confiscated because they’d been on his feet for four days and could have been considered a biological weapon,” Anderson jokes. "We were all pretty haggard by that point".

But the adventure wouldn’t end that easily, with their plane diverted to Hartford, CT, where Karen was finally reunited with Jamie and daughter Jessie at 2 am, admitting that she “lost it” a bit at this point. Meanwhile, Linda arranged for a ride to her apartment, picking up a guest along the way in the form of a semi-pro soccer player from the U.K. named Tom, en route to Ottawa to see a specialist about his injured knee.

“We finally got to my apartment at about 4 am, and I was so happy I almost bent down to kiss the carpet,” Seid says. “I woke up a couple of hours later, in my own bed and with a relative stranger crashed on my couch, and it seemed like the last several days hadn’t really happened, that instead it had just been a weird dream. But it wasn’t.”

Later that day, she helped Tom get a bus that would push him further along to his final destination, and both Karen and Linda reported to work bright and early the following Monday morning, while some of their fellow employees were still stranded in London.

“It’s really difficult to come to terms with this tragedy and how to express our own story in any words that mean something,” Anderson concludes. “As I reflect, the one thing that stands out is that from out of the absolute worst in human behavior came the absolute best in human behavior."

Keith Clark can be reached at keith@prosoundweb.com