Fw: The Sack Lunch

[Guest guest]

My big brother knows how to make me bawl at o600 hours -

The Sack LunchSent BCC... The Sack Lunch I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assignedseat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book toread. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought. Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled allthe 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'rebeing deployed to Afghanistan After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack luncheswere available for five dollars. It would be several

hours before we reachedthe 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 heplanned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sacklunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get tobase.' His friend agreed. I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked tothe 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 squeezedtightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier inIraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.' Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers wereseated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef orchicken?' 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why

she asked. She turned andwent to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner platefrom first class. 'This is your thanks..' After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading forthe rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, takethis.' He handed me twenty-five dollars. Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down theaisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not lookingfor me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of theplane. 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 andtook the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier andI was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act ofkindness I

never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from allof the passengers. Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A manwho was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wantingto shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm. When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting justinside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirtpocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-fivedollars! Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip tothe base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will takeyou 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 fellowtravelers. 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 thema couple of meals. It seemed so little... A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check madepayable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to andincluding my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who nolonger understand it.' May God give you the strength and courage to pass this along to everyone onyour email buddy list....I JUST DID. Let us pray... Prayer chain for our Military... Don't break it! Please send this on after a short prayer.. Prayer for our soldiers Don'tbreak it! Prayer: 'Lord, hold our

troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protectus. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for usin our time of need. Amen.' Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say aprayer for our troops around the world. GOD BLESS YOU FOR PASSING IT ON! Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.