9 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

Subject: Parachute





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 posting this as my way of thanking you for your part in
packing my parachute. And I hope you will share it on to those who have
helped pack yours!

Sometimes, we wonder why friends forward 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.

AND please take a minute to thank a member of our Armed Forces...past or present...for without them...today and everyday would be an ordeal we can not imagine nor do we ever want too!

[Mishelle]

That was too awesome!!!!!!!!

[BradfordNC]

hey Kamala,

come here, i'll pack your 'chute

[Marvel]

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.

Random acts of kindness. Even the simplest things like looking the store clerk in the eye & saying "thank you" or, my personal favorite- "Don't work to hard!" Alway brings out a smile & a laugh & let's them know that I know they are not just a faceless entity put there for my convenience.

[WreckWench]

hey Kamala,

come here, i'll pack your 'chute     

Hey Bradford...that's the best Valentine's Day offer I've had all day! -ww

[BradfordNC]

hey Kamala,

come here, i'll pack your 'chute     

Hey Bradford...that's the best Valentine's Day offer I've had all day! -ww

well, i hope it cheers ya up from yesterday

[DMP]

In the past I used to check and see who packed my chute by looking at the log book attached to the rig. If I ran into them at the PX or somewhere I would always treat the rigger with a cool drink. Just my way of saying thanks for doing their job right.

[ShamuLovesMe]

God bless my bartender! I'll never take him for granted again!

[SCUBADIVINERIK]

I used to check the log on my chutes before every jump as well. I never realized what a tough job it actually is though until I started packing my own chutes for skydiving. I used to get more of a workout out of that then I would from PT that day. Needless to say now when I check the logs on the reserve and main I think about what a good job our riggers do and how much tougher a job it is than I orig thought.
erik

[WreckWench]

Ya know...it means so much more coming for our guys who know these things! Thanks DMP and ScubaDivenEric!

And THANK YOU FOR FOR BEING PART OF OUR PROUD MILITARY!!! We owe you all so much!