Sack Lunches

Below, is a heart warming article that made its way around the Internet some time ago. Its author is unknown, and its validity is undetermined by Snopes. I just received it, again, and it is definitely worth the read.

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, 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.

[My thanks to Bonnie Feldman for this article]

An Escape to Simpler Times

I think it's safe to say we are going through difficult and stressful times. The men and women serving our nation in the military are in harm's way throughout the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan. We face complex decisions regarding those issues as well as issues regarding Iran, Russia, South America, Mexico and more. Economically we have serious issues with skyrocketing unemployment, bank failures, frozen credit markets, national debt, energy and what to do about them.

When life gets stressful it is therapeutic to, occasionally, take a break. Below are links to some videos that will take most of us back to simpler times. These videos will resonate best with the "over 50" crowd. However, if you are not there, yet, you may still find them interesting. Click on the links, below, for a little escape from today's problems. You may even find yourself smiling.

Popeye the Sailor: Man on the Flying Trapeze

Mickey Mouse Club

Call to Action: Stop the Stimulus Package

Despite being voted down by every Republican and 11 Democrats, the House version of the ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE was passed last week. Its price tag was $825 BILLION. Worse yet, the Stimulus Package will do little to jump start our floundering economy. In fact, it will seriously damage it. Most of it would not be injected into the economy until 2010 or 2011. The majority of the bill contains pork legislation that will enormously grow government and go to special interest groups. It WILL NOT cure our deepening recession.

The Stimulus Package is, now, before the Senate, and its price tag is approaching ONE TRILLION DOLLARS! This is in addition to the $700 billion Bailout Package that Congress passed last year which is also approaching ONE TRILLION DOLLARS! To fund these programs the government will TRIPLE THE CURRENCY in circulation, resulting in a WORTHLESS DOLLAR and HYPERINFLATION! This will bankrupt the nation! See my previous articles, Stop the Madness: No More Bailouts and An Inconvenient Debt: Economic Apocalypse. We CANNOT let this happen. I know most Americans feel helpless to change the course of politics in Washington. But there is something we CAN do.

What can WE, THE PEOPLE, do, you ask. The greatest power that WE, THE PEOPLE, have is our vote. One fear that all the politicians in Washington share is the fear that they WILL NOT BE REELECTED. If our elected officials in Washington know we are overwhelmingly against the passage of this bill, they will NOT pass it for fear we will vote them out in the next election. Therefore, WE MUST LET OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE KNOW THAT WE ARE AGAINST THE PASSAGE OF THIS BILL.

Below, is a letter I drafted that can be sent to our elected representatives in Washington via the Web, instructing them to vote this bill down. There is no salutation or closing required if you use the website outlined below.

The Economic Stimulus Package you are debating will result in national disaster. It is not targeted to the areas of our economy that need the stimulus. Rather, it is a runaway spending free-for-all that will excessively grow government and subsidize projects not related to the problem at hand. The largest portion of this package will not enter the economy until after 2010, and its effects will not be felt until well after that. This will be too late to reverse the recessionary trends we are facing today.

Finally, the price of this Economic Stimulus Package is colossal. As I write this letter, the price tag is approaching ONE TRILLION DOLLARS! To fund this and last year's Bailout Package the government will TRIPLE the currency in circulation, resulting in a WORTHLESS DOLLAR and HYPERINFLATION! THIS WILL SURELY DESTROY OUR ECONOMY! Our children and grandchildren will inherit a debt so heavy we can't imagine the effect it will have.

I implore you to avoid calamity and VOTE DOWN THIS ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE. Then you can start from scratch to develop a targeted, timely and reasonably priced stimulus package that will not shackle future generations with unimaginable debt.

If you agree that this bill must be stopped, then you must tell your elected officials to VOTE THIS BILL DOWN. TIME IS CRITICAL! President Obama wants the package passed by February 16th. Do the following (you may want to print out these instructions):

1. Select and copy the letter above (no salutation or closing required; it is generated by the website)
   
2. Go to the Oppose the Senate Stimulus Plan Congressional web page
   
3. Enter your zip code in the box and click "Go"
4. On the next page, confirm all your elected officials are checked
5. Confirm the subject box states: "Oppose the Senate Stimulus Plan"
   
6. Scroll down to the text box and click inside it
   
7. In the top left of your browser click "Edit" then "Paste" in the drop down list (this will enter the letter you copied from above into the text box; you can edit as desired)
8. Complete the "Closing" and "Name" boxes
9. Scroll down and complete the remaining sections
   
10. Click the "Send Message" button below the last section
    

School Life: 1960's vs Today

We have seen many changes in our lifetime; some good and some not good. The fictional scenarios, below, describe likely incidents at the schools we send our children to and how they would have been treated in the 1960's versus now. They make a strong statement about where we are going as a nation. They would be funny if they were not so true.

Scenario 1:
Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.
1960's - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
Today - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario 2:
Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1960's - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
Today - Police called and SWAT team arrives. They arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario 3:
Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.
1960's - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
Today - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD. The school gets extra money from the state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario 4:
Billy hits a baseball through a neighbor's window, and his Dad gives him a whipping because he had been told not to play baseball there.
1960's - Billy listens to his Dad, is more careful, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.
Today - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister that she remembers being abused, herself, and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.

Scenario 5:
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1960's - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal during recess who has a headache, too.
Today - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario 6:
Pedro fails high school English.
1960's - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
Today - Pedro's cause is taken up by ACLU. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against the school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is then banned from core curriculum. Pedro graduates and ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario 7:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.
1960's - Ants die.
Today - ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents. All siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly on a commercial airliner again.

Scenario 8:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary, who hugs him to comfort him.
1960's - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
Today - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

[My thanks to Edna Oeth for forwarding me this article. I did apply some minor editing for applicability to my audience prior to posting. Original author is unknown.]