The Sack Lunches
I put my carry-on in the luggagecompartment and sat down in myassigned seat. It was going to be along flight. 'I'm glad I have agood book to read. Perhaps I will geta short nap,' I thought.
Just before take-off, a line ofsoldiers came down the aisle andfilled all the vacant seats, totallysurrounding me. I decided tostart a conversation.'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
'Petawawa. We'll be there for twoweeks for special training, and thenwe're being deployed to Afghanistan.
After flying for about an hour, anannouncement was made that sacklunches were available for fivedollars. It would be several hoursbefore we reached the east, and Iquickly decided a lunch would helppass 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. I walked to the back of the plane andhanded the flight attendant afifty dollar bill.'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezedtightly. 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 upthe aisle to where the soldierswere seated. She stopped at my seatand asked, 'Which do you likebest - beef or chicken?'
'Chicken,' I replied, wondering whyshe asked. She turned and went tothe front of plane, returning aminute later with a dinner plate fromfirst class. 'This is your thanks..'
After we finished eating, I wentagain 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, Isaw the Flight Captain coming downthe aisle, looking at the aisle numbersas 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 Istood and took the Captain's hand.With a booming voice he said, 'I wasa soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassedwhen applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of theplane so I could stretch my legs.A man who was seated about six rowsin front of me reached out hishand, wanting to shake mine. He leftanother twenty-five dollars in my palm.
When we landed I gathered mybelongings and started to deplane.Waiting just inside the airplane doorwas a man who stopped me, putsomething in my shirt pocket, turned,and walked away without saying aword. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw thesoldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed themseventy-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 flightfeeling the love and respect of theirfellow 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 onepoint in his life, wrote a blank checkmade payable to 'The United States ofAmerica ' 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.'
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