Parachute Packer

This story is a reminder that we all have “parachute packers” in our lives – those
who silently contribute to our successes. They are our colleagues who work late
to meet a deadline, family members who offer unwavering support, mentors who
guide us, and friends who cheer us on.
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 six 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 fist and
said, “I guess it worked!” Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If that chute you packed
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 often I might have seen him and not even said ‘Good
morning, how are you?’ or anything because 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.
When Plumb delivers one of his lectures, he includes this story. After telling the story
Plumb asks his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?”
He states that everyone has someone who provides what he or she needs 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…Gratitude!! We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate
someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, pay a compliment, or
just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this
year and next years, recognize people who “pack your parachute.”
I am sending you this as my way of thanking you for your part in packing my
parachute.
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 anecdotes.
A friend may let you know you are still important; you are still loved; you are still cared
for. And, guess how that might happen — with a forwarded joke, or a short note of
hello. So, when you get a forwarded joke, know that you’ve been thought of today and
your friend wanted to send you a smile—just helping you “pack your parachute” that
day.
Whether we realize it or not, we are all walking around with parachutes. Our
inner circle, who has packed them, hopes we will never need to use them. But
we will. And that is okay. We all get shot down at some point. We all have to
bail on tough situations. We all face adversity and loss.
But isn’t it comforting to know that someone really cares? Isn’t it comforting to
know that your parachute will always deploy if you recognize and appreciate the
little things that people do for you? Isn’t it comforting to know that you can
return the love and support to someone else? Stay positive! Be
resilient! Embrace all that life has to offer and do not be afraid to fail. You will
land softly. Your parachute has been packed with care.
Encourage, lift and strengthen one another. For the positive energy spread to
one will be felt by us all. For we are all connected, one and all.
Blessings, Ben