His fellow passengers began crowding around him and Graham-Felsen told them the horrific news--that four passenger jets had been hijacked, striking the Pentagon and turning the World Trade Center’s twin towers to rubble.

“It was just horrible, having to bear that news. It was just surreal,” Graham-Felsen said. “It was like a movie. I kept waiting for Steven Seagall to appear or something.”

Ten hours later, after a few French passengers had been arrested for smoking on the plane, Graham-Felsen said he was transported to a Canadian army base and assigned a cot.

He said he was amazed by the kindness of those around him at the military base.

“It could have been really awful...but it wasn’t,” he said. “They had a ping pong table. I had a bed and the food was better than Annenberg, actually.”

But following a day at the army base, Graham-Felsen said he decided to head home, renting a car to drive him to the nearest port, where he boarded what he said appeared to be a cruise for senior citizens.

“I’ve been on this boat for like 10 hours now,” Graham-Felsen said last night. “These have just been some of the most surreal days of my life.”

—Staff writer Alex B. Ginsberg can be reached at ginsberg@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Daniela J. Lamas can be reached at lamas@fas.harvard.edu.