Merlin the Magician
At the Start
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.
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.
