Come from Away

Every school bus we got is goin' back and forth all night.

Out to the Salvation Army camp,

we've delivered passengers from Germany, England and France.

On around 3:00 in the morning, my bus is designated

to take all these African people out there.

Into the darkness

My family and I try to see out the bus windows.

No one tells us where we are going.

Onto a gravel road

Silence comes on the bus.

We get outside of Gander, and you could hear a pin drop.

- And all around us - My wife and daughter are scared.

They ask me what is happening, and I do not know.

- Behind me, this big man comes up to me… - Darkness and trees

…and he says in this low voice…

What?

Ladies and gentlemen, we need some help translating.

If anyone speaks Mandarin, can you come to the library?

And if anyone speaks Hindi, could you please come to the cafeteria?

And if anyone speaks Newfoundlander,

well, Lard tunderin' Jaysus, God bless ya, b'y.

We've got passengers from all over the world coming off these buses,

all speaking different languages. We can't even say hello.

And if anyone knows... We think it's...

Moldovan.

Moldovan, that would also be helpful.

Other passengers help us translate.

Mrs. Noonan, our French teacher, turns out to know a little Russian.

And Mr. Michaels, our gym teacher...

Apparently he speaks Spanish.

I'm sorry, what was I saying?

I said you got five minutes, Bonnie.

There are hundreds of suitcases.

I can hear barking, but I can't find 'em.

They fast them before flying, so they are starving,

and they need water.

Sir? Sir! Doug.

You gotta get out of there. We're keeping all personnel out of the holds until...

Sorry, Dwight. It's the wife.

You know, Bonnie, from the SPCA?

She's feeding some animals inside. Nothing's coming off.

I found a cat. His name is Lyle.

There's a pill taped to his carrier.

Well, I'm glad I got in here to give it to him.

It's okay, Lyle.

Bonnie, I need you to get out of there.

Bonnie, you gotta move your arse!

Doug, I have found one cat. Do you think it's Lyle who's barking?

No.

Here's some crunchy, Lyle. I'll be back to give you your pill.

Listen to me. FAA sent over new orders.

We're treating all US planes as bomb threats.

Oh, God. Bonnie!

Doug! Doug!

What? Bonnie? Bonnie, talk to me.

Doug! There are monkeys on this plane.

Climb aboard.

Hop right in.

You look some tired.

Nothing to worry about now.

We'll get you where you're going.

I'm guessing you never heard of Gander before.

Well, that's it in the rearview mirror.

You'll need to reset your watches.

We've got our own time zone here.

Everything happens half an hour later in Newfoundland.

You've all seen the airport. Used to be the biggest airport in North America.

Planes used to stop here to gas up from everywhere.

Frank Sinatra. Albert Einstein.

Muhammad Ali.

The Queen.

This is where the Beatles first set foot in North America.

My father once went sledding with Fidel Castro.

Then they invented jet planes that can get across the ocean on one tank.

So there's no need to refuel anymore.

Leaving us with this giant airport.

There's talk lately about tearing it down.

Lucky for you, we haven't got around to it yet.

Now, there's the reason I drive slow.

That there in the middle of the road…

Yeah, that's a moose.

She'll move when she's good and ready.

Mind if I sit here?

The drunk people from our plane are snoring back there.

Hello, Nick. Please do.

I thought we'd lost you.

No. I just needed to get an emergency prescription filled.

My medication's in my suitcase.

Nothing serious.

Not like, "Oh, my God, he's off his medication!"

I'll stop talking now.

It's fine.

It's heart medication. I've got a slight arrhythmia. Nothing serious.

There you go, everything you need to know about me.

Okay.

Well, I'm allergic to bananas. And I've never had the chicken pox.

Any news yet about your husband who was flying today?

My... No.

Do you mind if we just don't talk about that?

I haven't been able to get to a phone.

I'm sorry.

I'll help you find a phone as soon as we get… wherever we're going.

Finally, out of the darkness, my bus arrives at the Salvation Army camp.

We pass through a large gate, and the bus pulls to a stop.

And through the windows, out there in the darkness,

we see all these people coming out of the buildings.

Now, we rarely use 'em,

but everyone's dusted off their Salvation Army uniforms

to welcome these people.

There are soldiers everywhere.

The man at the front opens the door.

I say, "Here you are. Out you go."

But he's not moving. None of 'em are.

But then I notice his wife, well, she's clutching a Bible.

Now, obviously, I can't read it.

But their Bible, it'll have the same number system ours does.

So I ask… to see it.

And I'm searching for something here.

And then, in Philippians 4:6.

I give them their Bible, and I'm pointing, saying, "Look, Philippians 4:6."

"Be anxious for nothing."

"Be anxious for nothing."