This came from a friend . I found it to be worth sharing
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 and 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 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 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 first class.
‘This is yours with 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 Aircraft
Pilot 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,
an said, ‘I want to shake your hand.’
Quickly unfastening my seat belt 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 his country for an
amount of ‘up to and including my life.’
