Jason (seated) and Britny (center) Yandell with their hosts in Newfoundland. (Photo courtesy of the Yandells)
Jason and Britny Yandell have been in Fayetteville for nearly 17 years. Just three years prior to their move here, 9/11 shook our country and the world. Most Americans can tell you exactly where they were when they found out what had happened, and some can recall even the most mundane details of that fateful Tuesday. Jason and Britny are no different, but their memories focus much more on a little town called Gander
Come From Away is the hit Broadway musical that tells the remarkable true story of what happened to the passengers of 38 diverted planes on 9/11. Rather than arriving at their intended destinations, 7,000 passengers were forced to land in the small town of Gander in Newfoundland, Canada. Jason and Britny were two of those passengers who were taken into the homes and the hearts of the local townspeople.
Returning home to the US from a vacation in Prague, the couple were on a Delta flight when they were rerouted. They had been in the air for seven hours when they were told they were being diverted. “No one could tell us why,” Britny remembers.
The captain came on the radio and announced they were going to land. Jason said, “I don’t think he even said where. Just we were going to land because of a national airspace emergency and that’s all he said.”
Jason said that after taxiing clear, they had to stay in the plane on the ground because there was fear that there could still be terrorists aboard planes. While on the ground, Jason said they found out what had happened.
“The captain said there was a terrorist attack and was really holding back tears – well, crying really – on the radio. And for the captain of a wide-bodied airplane, that is obviously not common, so we knew it was a big deal.”
A view of busses that transported the “come from aways” around Gander. (Photo courtesy of the Yandells)
The Yandells and their fellow passengers were kept on their plane for 18 more hours In total they had spent more than an entire day on the plane. “We got bussed out (to a neighboring town) and went to go get deodorant and toothbrushes,” Britny said. “We hadn’t brushed our teeth in 28 hours!”
At that little convenience store where they stopped for essentials, is where Jason and Britny’s story began their very own Come From Away experience.
“Judy was running the convenience store, and she immediately shut down the store,” Jason said.
Britney elaborated saying, “She made us get in her car!”
Jason went on to say, “She drove us to her house, made us feel at home and then just left us for the rest of the day in her home. She went back to open up the store and go to work.”
Originally, the Yandells had been assigned to stay in the small gymnasium that had been set up with cots. Instead, they (along with another passenger from their plane) were welcomed into Judy and Tom’s home, where they stayed for the next five days.
“They gave us their bedroom,” said Britny. “We didn’t know it at the time that we were in their room. They had been sleeping on the floor.”
The Yandell’s experience with the hospitality of the people of Newfoundland mirrors what audiences experience when watching Come From Away. One of the lines from the musical that always get audiences laughing has a clerk saying, “Thank you for shopping at Walmart. Do you want to come back to my house for a shower?” And that’s how it really happened. The locals literally opened their homes to the “plane people” and made sure they were as comfortable as possible.
“The only word that comes to mind is benevolence. The whole experience. I don’t understand how they did it, but I guess it’s just an innate behavior. It was northing they had to do, it was just what they’re used to doing.” Britny said.
“I think also, they understood the gravity of the situation – how much we were hurting because our country was under attack.” Jason added.
Another aspect of the musical that Jason and Britny got to experience firsthand was getting “screeched-in,” a fun ceremony to make those who ‘come from away’ official Newfoundlanders. They said a boat that sits on the bank in the little town was brought in to the gym for the party, where they all sat and were given shots of rum and made to kiss a cod.
The real “come from aways” experience the Screech-in ceremony (Photo courtesy of the Yandells)
“The ceremony was so much fun. We kissed the fish. We drank the rum – and it was potent!” Britny recalls laughing. “Everybody got in the boat,” Jason said. “And these are people from all over the world. It was really cool that we’re all together and bonding together, trying to make each other feel better.”
Jason and Britny could have never imagined that what they experienced in Newfoundland could one day be turned into a hit Broadway musical. In fact, Britny was taken by complete surprise when she first heard of the play’s existence on a “60 Minutes” segment.
“I was in the kitchen and was like, whoa, wait, time out. what… they’re doing a play about the experience we all shared on 9/11? Are you kidding me? So, I told Jason, we have to see this. I don’t know how we’re going to see it, but we have to.” Walton Arts Center gave Jason and Britny that opportunity.
Britny said that the musical could have been taken directly from their memories. When the question “Where were you on 9/11?” comes up, they said that they usually tell their incredible story, but there’s no way to fully make people understand how special it was. Britney says “We know the experience and I just love that more people can experience it now. Because, let me tell you, they nailed it. They really nailed every aspect.” She says of the musical.
The Yandells and the other 7,000 passengers experienced something truly incredible. Come From Away is the uplifting story of the power of the human spirit that Jason and Britny assure us is accurate. “We were there five days,” she said, “All the people that we met, all the different personalities, the stories they shared, we shared… They taught us love.”
Just like in the show, the day the planes were finally able to leave it started to rain. (Photos courtesy of the Yandells).