Come From Away

"Long may your big jib draw"

(A New Foundland colloquial expression meaning "may you have good fortune.")

Arrived at Bobby's: Sat, Mar 4, 2017, @ 7:30 AM.

#SecuredThePorch: Accomplished
BK Guests: None

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On Saturday, Feb 25, 2017, my son Mark, daughter Carly, and I attended a play called "Come From Away" on Broadway.  It is about the town of Gander, New Foundland, Canada and how the local residents opened their doors and hearts to the passengers of 38 planes that were forced to land in Gander during the September 11 terrorist attacks. The term "Come From Away" is what locals use to describe out of town visitors. Gander, with a population of 10,000, became inundated with 6600 passengers in a matter of hours.

Without hesitation, the town sounds the alarm via local radio and word of mouth that these displaced travelers need to be fed, clothed, comforted and entertained for as long as the airspace is shut down. Emergency housing units are immediately set up and the travelers are provided with food and a place to sleep. Phone banks are provided by the local phone company free of charge and the local super market opens its doors and invites the travelers to "take what you need". With great effort and a deep sense of compassion, the people of Gander accept the challenge and set out to accommodate all the passenger's needs, such as baby food, diapers, medicine, dietary needs, dental and personal hygiene needs, etc.

During the play, we hear from the Gander Mayor, a local Policeman, a school teacher, an ASPCA worker, an American Airline pilot, and several others. All are faced with a variety of challenges (e.g., logistical, physical, emotional, fatigue to name a few), but through sheer will, effort, and a selfless need to provide for others, all are able to succeed. Friendships are formed between locals and travelers as well as travelers and other travelers. Irish Whiskey seems to sell well in Gander and is present in more than one scene.

Many "Come From Aways", as visitors are called, are welcomed to Gander at the local pub with a Newfoundland ritual called screech-in or kissing the cod; a traveler is asked to kiss a cod fish and down a shot of Screech Rum followed by the colloquial expression "long may your big jib draw", which translates to "may you have good fortune." Two travelers, who met for the first time on their flight to Gander, went on to get married. One traveler goes on a moose hunt with a local while many others are invited into homes for a meal and a nice shower and end up staying for days. A Gander school teacher befriends a woman from New York who is trying to reach her son who is a New York City firefighter. They both go to a local church to pray together. After leaving Gander, the woman returns to New York City to find out her son has died in the towers. Needless to say, this was an extremely emotional scene leaving the entire theater either sobbing or desperately trying to hold back tears.

In spite of the painful reminder of the horror that took place on September 11, 2001, the play left me with a very warm and positive feeling about humanity. The evil and darkness of the terrorist attacks were not able to dampen the love, spirit, and generosity of the people of Gander, New Foundland. I expect Come From Away to have a long run on Broadway which will give me ample time to see the play again.

Go see Come From Away and long may your big jib draw!!!

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The Rutgers men's basketball team took a big step forward with a win over the University of Illinois to finish the season with a 3-15 conference record and 14-17 record overall. This year marks the most conference and total wins for the Scarlet nights since joining the Big Ten in 2014. Improvement is coming incrementally but we are definitely trending in the right direction. Patience is warranted! Rutgers will play either Indiana or Ohio State in the Big Ten conference tournament on Wednesday, Mar 8.
Go RU!!!

We had a skeleton crew today with only 4 or 5 people showing up...a very low turnout for the BK club. But I must say, the conversation was very civil. Does that say more about those that were absent or those that were present? I really don't know.

The final weigh-in for the BKWRP is Saturday, Mar 11 at Bobby's. In the event a contestant fails to weigh in on Sat, Mar 11, the most recent weight recorded for that contestant will be used as the final weight.  An exception is being made for Rick B. His final weigh in will be Fri, Mar 10 because he will not be present on Saturday. This allowance is being made primarily because Rick provides the sanctioned scale.

A suggestion was made to extend the final weigh in one week. At first, I didn't have any objections; I try to go through life being flexible, but after I had time to absorb everything, I realized this didn't make any sense. I have been killing myself for 9 weeks, no bagels with lox spread, very little carbs and going to bed hungry most nights. Isn't 10 weeks enough time? Unless, the strategy is to push the final weigh in one week to Sat, Mar 18 in the hope that some people get boxed on St Patty's Day and forget to weigh in the next day. Nice try! I am DONE on Sat, Mar 11.

All BK members/family members - Feel free to provide reviews of any movies or plays that you attend.