Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam
After
75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by
a
surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and
parachuted
into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years
in a
communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal
and
now lectures on lessons learned from that
experience!
One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in
a
restaurant, a man at another table came up and
said,
"You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam
from the
aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk You were shot
down!"
"How in the world did you know that?" asked
Plumb..
"I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb
gasped
in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand
and
said, "I guess it worked!"
Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute
hadn't
worked, I wouldn't be here today."
Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about
that
man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had
looked
like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the
back;
and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times
I
might have seen him and not even said 'Good
morning, how
are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a
fighter
pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of
the
many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden
table
in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the
shrouds
and folding the silks of each chute, holding in
his
hands each time the fate of someone he didn't
know.
Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing
your
parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what
they
need to make it through the day. He also points out
that
he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane
was
shot down over enemy territory -- he needed his
physical
parachute, his mental parachute, his
emotional
parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called
on all
these supports before reaching
safety.
Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives
us, we
miss what is really important. We may fail to say
hello,
please, or thank you, congratulate someone on
something
wonderful that has happened to them, give a
compliment,
or just do something nice for no reason. As you
go
through this week, this month, this year,
recognize
people who pack your parachutes.
I am sending you this as my way of thanking you for
your
part in packing my parachute And I hope you will
send it
on to those who have helped pack
yours!
Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding
jokes
to us without writing a word.. Maybe this could
explain
it: When you are very busy, but still want to keep
in
touch, guess what you do -- you forward jokes. And
to
let you know that you are still remembered, you
are
still important, you are still loved, you are
still
cared for, guess what you get? A forwarded
joke.
So my friend, next time when you get a joke, don't
think
that you've been sent just another forwarded joke,
but
that you've been thought of today and your friend
on the
other end of your computer wanted to send you a
smile,
just helping you pack your
parachute........
Have a great day and stay in
touch.....
God Bless!
Marion