Who packs your parachute?

[Betty Boop]

In today's e-mail this story came to me. Being one who possesses a somewhat jaundiced eye, before I sent this on/posted on line for you to enjoy and consider, I checked this story out. This former Navy pilot is now a much sought after motivational speaker and author and the story is true.

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.....

What is significant about this story is that the friend who sent this to me I met 30 years ago while in college. She was a military brat and the orphan lift flight out of Saigon in the closing days of our involvement there that was shot down - it was piloted by her brother. In tragedy of a brother's loss, we became close friends. Now, 30 years later my friend and I have long ago gone our separate ways - married, had kids, and in her case relocated to another part of the country. Yet still, I have a friend who packs my parachute and in the chaos of life, the parachute functions. Who packs yours? And more importantly, whose parachutes have you been packing of late?

[AMVET91ALPHA]

Wow cal thanks..that just made my day.

[satin_patriot]

Originally Posted by AMVET91ALPHA

Wow cal thanks..that just made my day.

ditto

And then there's also the fact that the guy approached him in the first place..

[Bluehawk]

I have learned, from a number of hard bumps while falling to earth, to always, always, always... pack my own parachute.

[conlor]

Originally Posted by Wingwiper

I have learned, from a number of hard bumps while falling to earth, to always, always, always... pack my own parachute.

It's true that you need to be in charge of your own fate and happiness, but it's nice when you have someone you can count on to care that you're okay.

This is a really nice piece, Cal. I'm going to pass it on to people I care about.

[Marksman]

this is great story cal,u always find something that makes me think about stuff,thanks

Dusan

[odannyboy]

Originally Posted by Wingwiper

I have learned, from a number of hard bumps while falling to earth, to always, always, always... pack my own parachute.

Amen, brother.