Who Packed Your Parachute?

--by mifo13, posted Aug 5, 2009

Charles Plumb, a US 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 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 grabbed 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 kept wondering what the man might have looked like in a Navy uniform. He wondered how many times he might have seen him and not even said good morning, how are you or anything, because you see, he was a fighter pilot and the man was just a sailor. Plumb thought of the many hours that sailor had spent 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 did not know.

Now Plumb asks his audience, "Who is 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. As you go through your week, month, and even New Year, recognize the people who have packed your parachute and enabled you to get where you are today!

4500 Reads

Posted by mifo13
Aug 5, 2009
Comments (9)

Readers Comments

Miro wrote: I think of all the packers of my life. Wow there has been many. Thank you seems so very little to give back.

iferlamb wrote: Such an awesome story! I have read it before and hope to read it again! Thank you for sharing it with all of us.

Smiles.

incognita wrote: Soo lovely, tahnks for sharing, it just makies you think about how important the little things that people do for you are =) take care

warmth wrote: you right, one must show gratitude for every small thing. thank u :)

lmil1954 wrote: Wow- that's heavy!

FairyBubbles wrote: After reading your post I sat at my computer just thinking about it. I thought about how delicately life is balanced and how important the things are that we do. Thank you for making me think about this today.

Modestobob wrote: Wonderful story Michael. Thank you for sharing it! :) ModestoBob

AURELIA wrote: VEry Interesting. Time for me to thank some people for packing my Parachute :0) ~Aurelia

grammagussie wrote:

Stories of Kindness from Around the World