In October, I went to New York City with my friend Jeanne, and we went to Broadway shows. We were there three nights and saw three shows, so we made good use of our time!
On our last night in NYC, we saw the musical Come From Away. It’s the story of Gander, Newfoundland (poplation 10,000) and how these islanders took care of 38 plane loads of people, over 6,500 passengers and crew, who were diverted to Gander when the FAA shut down US airspace on 9/11.
After Jeanne and I got home from our trip, I happened across research showing that audience’s heartbeats syncronize during live theater performances.
I feel quite sure this happens when you see Come From Away, and it happened for me during this song, and I know because I was sobbing my eyes out in solidarity with all humanity at this point.
Come From Away asks this question: on the very worst day, who do you want to be?
And the people of Gander, Newfoundland show us who we could aspire to be.
We could be the store owners who donated diapers and formula. .
We could be the bus drivers who came off strike to transport passengers from the airfield to the town.
We could be the townspeople who opened their homes to strangers from all over.
On the very worst day, we could be the light.
That’s what Come From Away tells us: all this goodness and compassion, this could be us.
When I saw this show, I never expected that just a few months later, we would as an entire planet be facing a pandemic. While none of us knows today how this will all play out, it doesn’t look great. Even a best case scenario sees millions of people hospitalized and many dying. Many have died already.
The name of the show, Come From Away, refers to anyone who is not from Newfoundland, anyone who has “come from away.” The ones who are from Newfoundland call themselves “islanders.”
After the show, I bought myself an “Islander” baseball cap.
Because this is who I want to be: an islander.
An open door, an open heart, open arms. (With appropriate social distancing, of course.)
We can all be islanders. We can all do this together. All this goodness and compassion, this can be us.
We can be that instrument of peace.
Even if it’s the very worst day.