mother of C. Kinnison!

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 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, an 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 ' 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 friends on your email buddy list.... I JUST
DID