The Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat
down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight.
'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a
short nap,' I thought.


Just before take off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle
and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I
decided to start a conversation.


'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated
nearest to me.


'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special
training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan .'


After flying for about an hour, an announcement was
made that sack lunches were available for five dollars.
It would be several hours before we reached the east,
and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time....


As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his
buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a
lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be
worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.'

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying
lunch so I walked to the back of the plane and handed the
flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those
soldiers.'' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly.
Her eyes wet with tears; she thanked me. 'My son was a
soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'


Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the
soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked,
'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'


'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned
and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later
with a dinner plate from firstclass.


'This is yours, thanks.'


After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the
plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I
saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.'
He handed me twenty-five dollars.


Soon after I returned to my seat. I saw the Flight Captain
coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he
walked. I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he
was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane.
When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his
hand and said, 'I want to shake your hand.'


Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the
Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a
soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought
me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I
was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of
the passengers.


Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch
my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of
me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left
another twenty-five dollars in my palm.


When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to
deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man
who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned,
and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-
five dollars!


Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for
their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed
them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to
reach the base.. It will be about time for a sandwich. God
Bless You.'


Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect
of their fellow travelers.


As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for
their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for
our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It
seemed so little...


A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote
a blank check made payable to 'The United States of
America ' for an amount of ' up to and including my life.'


That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this
country who no longer understand it.



'May God give you the strength and courage to pass this
along to everyone on your email buddy list....I just did

Let us pray...

Prayer chain for our Military...

Please don't break it!

Please send this on after a short prayer...

Prayer for our soldiers

Prayer:

'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them
as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the
selfless acts they perform forus in our time of need. Amen.'

Prayer Request:

When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say
a prayer for our troops around the world. There is nothing
attached. Just send this to people in your address book.
Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a
Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and the many others that
are deployed in harm's way, prayer is the very best one.

God Bless You For Passing It On!

Unknown Arthur.


Loyal Forever....


_________________________________________
--
Cindy Williams :-)
Founder of Teaching Hands
http://teaching-hands.blogspot.com
Building World-Wide Communities -- Together!