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.....