> > >> > Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a 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 might have 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 on a long
wooden
> > >> > table in the bowels of
> > >> > the ship, carefully weaving the shroud lines 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.
> > >> >
> > >> > Plumb 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
> > >> > parachute.
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