The marks of the destruction of the 9/11 attack 1:30
(CNN) -
Twenty years ago, Nick Marson and Diane Kirschke were two strangers aboard Continental Airlines Flight 5 that was traveling from the Gatwick terminal in London to Houston, Texas.
Four hours into the flight, the pilot announced over the intercom that the plane would be diverted to Newfoundland, Canada.
"There are problems in the airspace of the United States," the captain said, without elaborating.
Nick was a British businessman in his 50s who worked in the oil industry.
He was heading to Texas to work and had no idea where Newfoundland was.
"I looked out the window because I thought he might not be telling us the truth, and that maybe an engine was on fire," Nick told CNN Travel today.
At the other end of the aircraft, Diane took in the news.
A divorced American who had just turned 60, she was returning from visiting her son, who was in the United States Air Force and serving in England.
"I thought, 'Canada, I've never been to Canada.' It sounds like an adventure," Diane recalls today.
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It was September 11, 2001. Following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, US airspace was closed and, in the framework of Operation Yellow Ribbon, more than two hundred commercial aircraft bound for the United States were diverted to Canada. .
Nick and Diane's flight was diverted to Gander, a rural town of just 10,000, home to an airport whose history as a refueling point for pre-jet aircraft allowed it to have runways to rival each other. with those of much larger cities.
Gander: This Canadian airport hosted 7,000 people on 9/11
As the Continental 5 approached Newfoundland, Nick saw dozens of planes lined up in rows.
He dropped his suspicion that there was a technical problem.
"We were the 36th plane out of 38 to land, so it's clear not everyone had a problem with their plane," says Nick.
When the Continental 5 landed, the captain told passengers that there had been terrorist activity in the US and that planes had crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
"Although that sounded horrible, no one realized how devastating it was until sometime later," says Nick.
In 2001, no one could read the news on his phone.
Nobody had the Internet on them, much less international coverage.
Many people didn't even have cell phones.
Diane remembers that she was very worried about her family in the United States, and that she was disturbed that she could not assure them that she was okay.
This state of uncertainty was maintained for more than 24 hours.
While the planes were stuck on the runways, volunteers from Gander and its neighboring cities delivered food and supplies to the planes, and set up makeshift shelters at schools, colleges and community centers in the region.
Some 7,000 people were about to arrive in his community, almost doubling the population of Gander.
When the displaced travelers were finally allowed to get off the planes, it was September 12.
The passengers disembarked one by one, without being allowed to carry luggage.
Nick took this photo of the passengers finally disembarking from the Continental 5 in Gander, Canada.
Courtesy of Nick and Diane Marson
When they went through the security checkpoint, they were greeted with smiles and calm.
"They were very friendly and open," says Diane of the Gander volunteers.
"They just welcomed us. They didn't care who you were, where you came from, how much money you had in your wallet, what kind of work you did ... we just needed help, and they were going to take care of us."
Nick was taken to a small shelter in Gambo, about 50 kilometers from Gander.
The United Fishermen Society was the largest structure in town, usually reserved for weddings, bingo or town gatherings.
Several hours later, after a detour to a packed Gander shelter, Diane ended up there as well.
This is the shelter where Nick and Diane met.
Courtesy of Nick and Diane Marson
It was in the shelters that the "people on the plane," as the Newfoundlands called the newcomers, finally saw the horrific television images that had resonated around the world, and learned the true extent of what happened on the 11th. of September.
The volunteers had set up phones and Diane contacted her family to let them know she was safe, and she also learned that they were all okay.
The "people on the plane" lined up to collect blankets and supplies.
When hers was handed to her, Diane commented that it smelled like mothballs.
"Camphor," said a voice behind her.
It was Nick.
The two began to chat, first finding humor in the clearly scented blankets, then realizing they had been on the same plane to Texas.
In this unfamiliar, yet very friendly place, this coincidence seemed like something to hold on to.
"I asked Diane if I could take the bunk next to hers and she said, 'Sure, why not,'" Nick recalls.
How 9/11 changed travel forever
Honorary inhabitants of Newfoundland
The next morning, Nick and Diane went out for some fresh air.
They needed a break from constantly watching the news.
"It was too much to sit back and watch those horrible scenes over and over again," says Diane.
At first they were joined by another couple, who later withdrew.
Soon Nick and Diane were alone.
"We chatted and tried to pass the time, enjoying each other's company," Nick recalls.
Along the way, they stopped at a convenience store to buy some soda and a trail mix.
Nick tried to pay, but Diane beat him to it.
"Well, he had an ulterior motive," Diane says, laughing.
She was enjoying Nick's company, and she thought that the fact that she paid for his snacks would make Nick stay.
He found it interesting, remember, and quite a gentleman.
As for Nick, he thought Diane was pretty and he really enjoyed chatting with her.
They had a lot to talk about: they were both divorced, had grown children, and had a close relationship with their families.
There were cultural differences, but they shared values.
When they returned to the shelter, they found that the cots had been temporarily removed and that the evening entertainment had begun.
The Newfoundland volunteers were introducing the "people on the plane" to a local tradition known as Screech-In, a way of designating visitors as "Honorary Newfoundland."
The process consists of several steps, such as sipping a screech shot and kissing a cod.
Screech, Nick explains, tastes like "bad Jamaican rum."
Nick and Diane at the Screech-In ceremony.
Courtesy of Nick and Diane Marson
Nick bought Diane a beer and they enjoyed the ceremony, kissing the cod and all.
When Diane's turn came, the emcee asked where she was from.
She explained that she lived in Texas.
The master of ceremonies then passed Nick.
"What part of Texas are you from, buddy?" He asked.
"Oh no, I'm from England," Nick explained.
"Well, how does it work?" Asked the emcee.
Nick was confused.
"How does your marriage work?" The emcee clarified, pointing at Diane.
Nick and Diane explained that they weren't married, but it turned out that everyone else had thought they were a couple.
The entertainer jokingly said he was a justice of the peace.
"Do you want to get married?" He asked Nick and Diane.
Diane laughed.
"Why not?" She said, slightly dizzy from the alcohol.
Reflecting on that moment today, Diane says she felt a freedom to be in a place where no one knew her.
"You didn't have to play your usual role," he says.
"She was not the mother of my children or the grandmother of my grandchildren. She was not the lady next door. No one there knew me. I could make a fool of myself if I wanted to."
And for the rest of the evening, Diane's answer kept haunting Nick's mind.
Clash of Continents
The next day, some locals took them on a hike to a spectacular local lookout, the Dover Fault.
"It's a beautiful vantage point, about 60 meters above where the river and the ocean meet," says Diane.
The place was formed when two continents collided millions of years ago and then parted ways.
Nick carried one of the first digital cameras.
He had already taken a photo of the moment when the passengers of the Continental 5 disembarked, as well as photos of the shelter with its makeshift beds.
But there was only one photo she really wanted from her detour to Newfoundland: a photo of Diane.
"I needed a photo to remind me that I had not dreamed all this, these magical days, but had really happened," he says now.
His camera had no zoom function, so he had to get close enough to get the picture.
"I offered to get out of the way, because I thought I wanted a photo of this beautiful scenic spot," recalls Diane.
"I had no interest in the panoramic view," says Nick.
He told her not to move and that her eyesight was perfect.
"Then I knew he was interested in me and not the landscape," says Diane.
"So that changed the dynamic a bit."
As they admired the scenery, both Diane and Nick considered the improbability of their meeting.
"I had a very quiet life," says Diane.
"I had a nice little apartment. I had a job that I liked and co-workers and friends."
"Neither of us got on that plane looking for a romantic rendezvous," says Nick.
Nick took this photo of Diane at a beautiful overlook, Dover Fault.
Courtesy of Nick and Diane Marson
Fired
Five days after the planes landed at Gander, the call came that the planes were allowed to leave.
The buses gathered the passengers who had dispersed through the local cities.
One by one, the planes departed.
"We got on the school bus and it was raining," recalls Diane.
"I was a little upset that we were leaving these wonderful people and I had gotten to know them and their children, and they had been so nice to us and I knew I would never see them again. And I probably wasn't going to see Nick again. So I was moved to tears".
Nick, sitting next to Diane, realized she was crying.
He put his arm around her and went to kiss her forehead as a gesture of comfort.
"I thought it was my chance," recalls Diane.
"So I grabbed him and gave him a big kiss."
On their flight to Texas, Nick and Diane sat next to each other.
Nick says they were "making out" the entire trip.
Midway through the flight, a flight attendant paced the aisle offering hot towels to passengers.
When he approached Nick and Diane, he raised an eyebrow.
"Cold towel?" He asked.
Nick stayed in Houston for a few days, reviewing his work there.
In the evenings, Diane took him out to eat at her favorite restaurants, and before Nick left they exchanged email addresses and phone numbers.
Then he had to leave.
"It was very difficult flying back to England alone. It was a real emotional downturn," says Nick.
A new beginning
Back in their respective homelands, Nick and Diane struggled to come to terms with the fact that they had fallen in love with someone in the context of such devastating events.
They kept in touch regularly, writing long emails about how they felt and about their lives on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
In October 2001, Nick convinced his office that he had to go back to Houston to review a work project.
"I needed to make sure that Diane was really the person I remembered, and that I hadn't exaggerated her a bit in my mind," he says.
It was, and the visit made it clear to them that they wanted to be together.
A month later, in early November 2001, Nick called Diane from his car.
"I told him I was on my knees," he says.
He proposed marriage.
Diane, delighted, said yes.
"We felt it was meant to be," he says today.
"Who could go against fate?"
The two of them started planning their future together.
Diane sold her one-bedroom apartment and bought a bigger house, and that December, Nick convinced the company he worked for in England to move him to Houston.
In March 2002, Diane introduced Nick to her family for the first time.
Diane says that they too quickly fell in love with him;
They say that all their loved ones were surprised, but supported them.
After several months of red tape to marry someone from another country, in September 2002, almost exactly a year after meeting, Nick and Diane were married at their home in Houston.
She adopted his name and they became Nick and Diane Marson.
Saying goodbye was tough, but not for long.
Nick moved to Texas and the couple married.
Here they are on their wedding day, September 7, 2002.
Courtesy of Nick and Diane Marson
When it came to planning their honeymoon, there was no question: the Marsons would return to Newfoundland.
The couple were excited about the idea of seeing beautiful places again like the Dover Fault, but Nick and Diane also wanted to organize a small gathering to thank the locals for their hospitality from the previous year.
They kept in touch with many of the people they met, and they felt they owed them a lot.
"They could have left us on the plane. They could have even left us in the hangar," Nick says.
"They took us into their hearts and into their homes," says Diane.
But Nick and Diane underestimated, once again, the extent of Newfoundland hospitality.
"We arrived and found a wedding reception," Nick recalls.
"With a multi-layered wedding cake, gifts, candles, the main table had champagne ..." adds Diane.
The mayor of Gambo had even written them a song.
He performed it right there, singing how Nick and Diane had met in Newfoundland, fallen in love, and married.
Share your story
During their return trip to Newfoundland in 2002, word spread that two "people on the plane" had fallen in love.
Nick and Diane were contacted by some media outlets, but the couple did not want to share their story at the time.
"We suffered what's called survivor guilt," says Nick.
"We were not comfortable with what we had found after so many disasters."
"Three thousand families had lost someone," says Diane.
"And here we had found happiness."
It wasn't until 2009 that they shared their story, as part of Canadian presenter Tom Brokaw's documentary on Operation Yellow Ribbon.
A couple of years later, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Nick and Diane were visiting Gander, and were approached by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, songwriters and songwriters who explained that they had received funding from the Government of Canada to produce a show about what happened in Newfoundland after 9/11.
The story of Nick and Diane is one of the main threads of the musical "Come From Away".
Courtesy of Nick and Diane Marson
This is how Nick and Diane's story became one of several tales woven into the Tony and Olivier award-winning musical "Come From Away," in which a 12-person cast plays various roles, from the residents of Gander to the "people on the plane."
The first time the couple saw the show in Canada in 2013, it was an emotional experience.
They couldn't believe how accurately the musical told its story and how well it evoked the atmosphere of Newfoundland that week.
"Es simplemente un testimonio de la generosidad, la amistad y la apertura de la gente de Terranova", dice Diane. "Es una historia del 12S. Es la secuela de lo que ocurrió el 11 de septiembre. Pero el 12S reinó el amor".
Hay un rincón de la casa de Nick y Diane lleno de recuerdos de su estancia en Terranova y de recuerdos del espectáculo.
Cortesía de Nick y Diane Marson
Desde su estreno, "Come From Away'' ha sido anunciada en todo el mundo y ahora una versión filmada del premiado espectáculo se estrenará internacionalmente en Apple TV+ el 10 de septiembre de 2021.
"Hemos visto la serie 118 veces", dice Nick. "Diane dirá que es como si renováramos nuestros votos cada vez que la vemos".
"Aprovechar al máximo cada día"
Nick y Diane en agosto de 2021.
Cortesía de Nick y Diane Marson
Mientras el mundo reflexiona sobre los 20 años transcurridos desde el 11S, también se cumplen dos décadas desde que Nick y Diane se conocieron, y 19 años desde el día de su boda.
A lo largo de estas dos décadas, entre ver su historia de amor resonando en los cines de todo el mundo, la pareja se ha ajustado a las situaciones humorísticas que a veces surgen de sus diferencias culturales, y se han apoyado mutuamente en los altibajos de la vida.
"Aunque tuviéramos diferencias culturales, de amigos y de todo lo demás, había un núcleo de amor: sabíamos que nos cuidábamos mutuamente", dice Diane sobre los años que llevan juntos. "Había mucha confianza entre nosotros".
Durante los cinco días que pasaron varados en Terranova, Nick y Diane se vieron obligados a vivir el día a día; esa mentalidad los llevó a estar juntos y es un mantra que han mantenido en los años posteriores.
"Aprovecha cada día, sácale el máximo partido", dice Diane. "Porque quién sabe cuántos días tiene cada uno".
Pareja