Sack Lunches

 
The Sack Lunches
   
    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. 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 a 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 your 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 Flight Captain 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 and said, 'I want to shake your hand' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt, 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 'The United States of
   
    America   ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'
   
    That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who
no longer understand it.'
   
    May God give you the strength and courage to pass this along to
everyone on your 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't break it!
   
    Prayer:
   
    'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they
protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform
for us in our time of need. Amen.'
   
    Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and
say a prayer for our troops around the world.
   
    There is nothing attached. Just send this to people in your address
book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine,
Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm's way, prayer is the very
best one...
   
    GOD BLESS YOU FOR PASSING IT ON!
 

WHO SHOULD WE BE?

ALL ABOUT COUNTRY

How does or should the US work? Democracy and Capitalism is not for every country or for all people. To make this country work a large majority of the citizens need a strong character with good moral and ethical principles. Otherwise, the country will move toward anarchy. Most of the people must live responsibly of their own cognizance. Government needs to control the rest. One of governments responsibilities is maintain chaos below the level of uncontrollable demonstration. I believe our founding fathers knew that the nation needed to be God fearing and have a strong Judeo-Christian foundation. If these principles don't exist then another form of government is required. From the Old Testament we learn that a nation whose leaders and citizens turn away from God, will decay and eventually be destroyed by famine, violence or captivity.

Our nation may be struggling with this problem right now? So, what should we do? What are the major symptoms of our problems today? Unemployment, drugs, porn, violence , crime, debt (public and private) and some others that can be added to one of these categories. Do enough people believe we have a big problem to be willing to try some drastic measures?

How about letting God be bigger than government? We don't have to mix them. We can still maintain the desired separation. But, why not give God a try! If people just found enough of God to take on a position of moral and ethical self control, it would be a start. Then maybe we would have enough courage to try a few new ideas. Greatly reducing or removing taxes from our business sector would cause jobs to come roaring back into the US and greatly reduce unemployment. Taking government restriction off the private sector because we can trust the new moral and ethical conduct would greatly reduce operating costs. Ethical responsibility in business would cause businesses to pass the savings on to their customers. Would we still have crime and require laws and enforcement to protect the ones acting in good faith? Of course! But, find ways control and punish the guilty without placing shackles on the innocent. Have a few good laws and enforce them. A novel idea.

Let's cut the cost of government starting at the top. Business can do the same. Cut the number of congressmen. Have them work half a year. Pay them less. Cut congressional administrative staffs by half or more. Get rid of unnecessary departments (like the department of Energy). We are going to need these folks to fill the jobs created in the business sector. Require people to become citizens and speak English. Otherwise, deport them and their families. Even if some of their dependent family are citizens. A law is a law. Only God effectively provides mercy. Get rid of government sponsored welfare. Turn it all over to the responsible private sector. If people are financially responsible and charitable, we won't need those programs. If anyone disagrees, the he is likely to be unprincipled. Where do we train people to be principled? How about in our homes. Start with the youth. They are the future. Do we have time? Does it matter? Start now! Start some where!