Article September 9, 2002 Issue

SHIRLEY BROOKS-JONES

After spending the night on the plane, we were finally unloaded at Gander Airport and bused to Lewisporte, about 45 minutes away. Everybody was taking care of everybody. The volunteers were cooking, smiling, giving you a touch on the arm—just that human contact was absolutely wonderful.

Many of the volunteers had swollen ankles from standing on their feet for so many hours. At night, they turned down the lights, but not everyone wanted to sleep. All of us were glued to the TV set. And the volunteers were all there, just walking around, seeing to our needs.

On September 13, Thelma and Bill Hooper noticed that my friend Jo was having a lot of problems physically. Thelma also noticed that I'd been kind of watching out for Linda, a woman from Mississippi who was alone on her first airplane trip. So Thelma invited all of us to her home. We were so grateful. It was wonderful to be in a real house. We stayed with the Hoopers until we were bused back to the airport several days later.

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