Charles "Chuck" Plumb was a U.S. 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 six years in a Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on the lessons he learned.
One day, while Plumb and his wife were dining, a man approached and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters from the Aircraft Carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"
"How did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man shook 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. He wondered how many times he might have seen the sailor on the ship without even saying "Good morning," because he was a fighter pilot and the man was "just" a sailor. He pictured the sailor spending hours at a wooden table in the ship's bowels, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silk of each parachute, holding the fate of a stranger in his hands.
Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to get through the day. He points out that when he was shot down, he needed many kinds of parachutes: his physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports to reach safety.
Sometimes in life's daily challenges, we miss what's truly important. We may fail to say hello, please, thank you, offer congratulations, give a compliment, or simply do something kind. As you go through your days, recognize the people who pack your parachutes and send them your gratitude.