Kevin Tuerff’s life changed when he became stranded in Gander on 9-11.
He was a passenger on the second of 38 planes that landed on the tarmac that day.
“That’s really where my adventure of experiencing the most remarkable compassion began,” said Tuerff, who is the inspiration behind character Kevin T. in the Broadway musical “Come From Away.”
“On this horrific day, what I experienced changed my perspective and let me see the best side of humanity.”
Tuerff said he still gets a lump in his throat when he recalls the teenage boy who handed him towels and an air mattress to sleep on.
RELATED STORY:
‘Let’s not let the terrorists own the day,’ says man who was inspired by his stranding in Gander
“It was as if the entire town had mobilized. I’ve been back several times and I haven’t met anybody who wasn’t involved in some way of pitching in and helping out. That was really remarkable.
“I went back to Texas wondering would a small town of 10,000 do the same? And I wasn’t sure.”
After Tuerff witnessed the kindness shown to those displaced passengers, he wanted to pay the residents back in some way, but everyone said they were just doing what anyone would have done.
So, he decided to pay it forward.
Tuerff created the Pay It Forward 9-11 movement, which encourages people to do random acts of kindness every year on Sept. 11.
“People would say it would change their life, these simple random acts of kindness. So, I’ve been doing it ever since, and it was indeed inspired by what happened to me, by the people of Gander.”
Tuerff also penned the book, “Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9-11,” for which he held a cross-island book tour last summer.
He’s now back in the province again for a week, but this time his goal is to help boost tourism, and spread some more kindness along the way.
Tuerff tells the story of Gander during 9-11 wherever he goes and, paired with the “Come From Away” musical, he has encountered many people who want to visit the province, he said.
“They all say, ‘I want to go there! I want to go see what it’s like. I want to meet these kind people.’ But yet they’re kind of stumped and not sure how to do it.”
Tuerff was familiar with Maxxim Vacations’ ‘Come from Away Self-Drive Tour,’ so he called them and asked if he could help promote it.
“They saw a boost in tourism last year, but I think it could be exponentially higher, so that’s my goal. … I’ll be going to some of the same places, like in Gander where I’ve already gone, but then I’m adding some cool things. Like, I’ve never been to Twillingate, and I’ve never taken the boat tour to see iceberg alley, so I’m getting to do that. And I’m going to Port Rexton.
“I’ll be exploring more of it myself, writing a blog and giving people tips on how to travel to have a similar experience.”
Tuerff will also chronicle his journey around the province in a series of articles in The Telegram next week.
Throughout his week-long trip, Tuerff will continue his random acts of kindness, which he said could include anything from paying for someone’s coffee or their tank of gas to giving away copies of his book.
His main goal is to encourage his fellow Americans to travel to Newfoundland and Labrador, and also to be inspired by the compassion people showed him.
“I would love nothing more than for people in the United States to see just how compassionate the people of Newfoundland are, and perhaps incorporate that into their own lives.
“Even though here we are 17 years later, the story about the compassion and kindness is more relevant now. … Our world is divided, and I’m a big believer that you can’t change people’s hearts and minds by arguing with them, but you can by doing random acts of kindness.”
Twitter: juanitamercer_
