The necessities of life
Add toys to the short list
Maria Weiskott, Editor-In-Chief -- Playthings, 10/1/2001
If you have ever questioned the importance or value of our industry and have come up short, well, give it another go 'round. Sure, we're not about rocket science or a cure for cancer. We're not even about a cure for the common cold. Nor are we involved in other high priority matters— or so we think. I had the occasion to have second thoughts about toys on a detour home from an industry exhibition in Paris last month…
Our flight had only about two hours left before reaching Newark, N.J., when the captain rudely awakened us from the semiconscious state usually experienced by transatlantic air travelers. His words were chilling: "Our flight is being diverted because of terrorist acts against the United States."
We eventually touched down in the outer reaches of Newfoundland in Gander, a town of about 7,000 residents, that grew from its strategic position as a busy WWII military refueling stop. Its air facilities still intact, this former outpost now served as Gander International Airport. Before long, its tarmac was filled with 37 huge aircraft whose passengers and flight crews would nearly double the town's population.
The field was also filled with yellow school buses, tour buses, local transit buses steered by drivers who earlier that day had been on strike. They dropped their pickets, we learned later, and volunteered to be part of a logistics effort that would amaze even the experts.
The passengers from our flight—Air France 004—were taken to the Gander campus of the College of the North Atlantic. It was there that our caregivers catered to our needs. In addition to heartfelt sympathy and friendship, and supplying us with the means to communicate with our loved ones by e-mail and by phone, they supplied us with the necessities of life: CNN, food, soap, washcloths, towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, blankets and toys. Yes, toys.
Watching the positive impact of toys and play on our flight's children, as well as the adults watching them, in one of the most dire circumstances validated the necessity and the importance of children's play and the toys that help them do it.
I was one of the lucky ones in the air on September 11, 2001 in more ways than one. Beyond doubt, I learned the value of the industry in which I spend my days. It may not be the cure for the common cold, but it can definitely ease the symptoms of fear wrought by an ailing world.
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