Greg 0 #1 April 23, 2001 Thought this was cool!! Charles Plumb, a US Naval Academy graduate, was a 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 6 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 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, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said "Good morning", "How are you?" or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor. Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on 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. Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb 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. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachute. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallnAngel 0 #2 April 23, 2001 Thanks for sharing that, Greg! What a great story, and what a great boost to start the week with! Btw, where did you read the story? If it was in a book, I'd really be interested in the name of it. Thanks!Blue Skies,Karen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybitch 0 #3 April 23, 2001 Huh, got my parachute packed by a DZ packer a month back.....The screaming line-over malfunction was a joy to behold...not...Luckily I wasn't jumping it on that occasion, but the guy who was has a great broken leg now....I pack my parachute...SB Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skreamer 1 #4 April 23, 2001 KarenYou can get his autobiography on Amazon - click here. Another interesting fact is that he got shot down only 5 days before his tour of duty was to end (imagine then spending almost 6 years as a POW, only having missed out on going home by 5 days!!!)./s Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greg 0 #5 April 23, 2001 QuoteBtw, where did you read the story? If it was in a book, I'd really be interested in the name of it. Thanks!Hello Karen, a friend emailed this to me this morning, and yeah, what a nice way to start the week!! Anyway, not sure where this came from originally, but the link that Skreamer provided will most likley shed some light on the name of the book this was "plagerized" from. Blue ones!!Greg A-37958 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallnAngel 0 #6 April 23, 2001 Thanks for the link, Skreamer! I just ordered the book, plus one on parachuting history. (I wanted to get a book on the sport's history after doing a 2-way with a guy last weekend that was jumping a paracommander...it was so unique and cool to see him jump it and pack it, that it got me thinking about the whole history of our sport and how it has changed) So, you helped me in more ways than one and I thank you! Quoteimagine then spending almost 6 years as a POW, only having missed out on going home by 5 days!!!). I can't begin to imagine what he went through...he is a truly amazing person, and I can't wait until my book arrives!Blue Skies for you,Karen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallnAngel 0 #7 April 23, 2001 Quotethe link that Skreamer provided will most likley shed some light on the name of the book this was "plagerized" from. Heya, Greg!I just ordered the book that Skreamer pointed me to...it called "I'm no hero, a POW story" and it was $19.95 from Amazon. Hope it hurries and gets here Thanks again for the motivating post! I really needed one today...Blues,KarenP.S. My A# is 37726, pretty close to your #...I've been waiting to "appear" in Parachutist for a few months...do you think we'll make it this month??!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cacophony 0 #8 April 23, 2001 I do. I am very proud of myself for it too. After those very hot and wet days with a Sabre and a small bag. I just continue to forge ahead. I think I lost my mental parachute to a basketball sized hole and I had an explosion with my religious canopy.Safe landings,Alex D-23912 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greg 0 #9 April 23, 2001 QuoteP.S. My A# is 37726, pretty close to your #...I've been waiting to "appear" in Parachutist for a fewmonths...do you think we'll make it this month??!!! Nah!! Not yet, from what I understand it takes about four freakin months for it to cycle around, but yeah, I still look every month just in case!! No problem for the motovational post thingy, to me its like a big ole virtual hug, I got it this morning, and just passed it along!!Blue ones!!!Greg A-37958 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpergirl 0 #10 April 23, 2001 What a cool story! I got chills reading it! Thanks for posting that, Greg!!BLUE SKIES! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doasfu 0 #11 April 23, 2001 QuoteI just ordered the book, plus one on parachuting history.What's the book on parachuting history? Sounds interesting.Dan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallnAngel 0 #12 April 24, 2001 QuoteWhat's the book on parachuting history? Sounds interesting.Hi, Dan!The title is The Sky People: a History on Parachuting...and here's a description of the book: Parachutists are a breed apart, worthy of the title Sky People, for few experience the freedom and the whims and the very substance of the air as they do. This is the story of the Pioneers who showed the way; of the Show-jumpers who tied the "dicing with death" label so tightly to the parachute; of the "Caterpillars" who have leapt for life from stricken aircraftand of the test jumpers who made it possible for them to do so; of the Paratroopers who used the parachute to carry them to battle; and of the Sky Divers who jump for sheer joy. It is a story that relates the excitement, the humor, the triumph, and the tragedy that have accompanied parachuting through the years. Hope it's as good as it sounds! Blue Ones,Karen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slotperfect 7 #13 April 24, 2001 I have been a US Army Rigger for 17 years, and an FAA Senior Rigger for 11 years. In that time, there's no telling how many reserves I have packed. I log my civilian pack jobs of course, but not the military ones (we aren't required to). Occasionally, someone uses a reserve that I packed. They are always very thankful and complimentary. I shrug it off as just being my job (after all, it had BETTER work, right??). The first time someone rode one of my reserves I will always remember, though. It was a great feeling to know that my effort had been used for some real purpose. I don't keep track of "saves" either, but I am undoubtedly up into the twenties by now. Out of my two malfunctions in 2447 jumps, I packed one of the reserves. You had better believe that the Rigger who packed the other one was given the appreciation he deserved.I pack my own main and reserve, although there are many others I would trust to do so for me. I keep pretty good company.Respectfully,SP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildblue 7 #14 April 24, 2001 If you can find it, this is a good one to read tooParachting Folklore,(The Evolution of Freefall)By Michael Horan Parachuting Resources, 1980 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
