Sack Lunch

This is too good not to pass along.


Subject: Sack Lunch


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 so 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, 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....

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!

You're a Good Man Tiger - bonus pics AND VIDEO!

This email arrived a few weeks back. It tells about the brief speech Tiger Woods made at Obama's inauguration. The speech did actually occur, as reported on the website for The Golf Channel. The email states that the speech was published on Tiger Woods' website but it may not be there now. I seached for "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Obama" and then "Inauguration" but found no results for any of those three phrases.

There is an analysis of this email on one of About.com's Urban Legends pages. Read their viewpoint as an alternative to this email's spin. They say that there was no pressure to honor Obama. They also quote Woods feelings on Obama winning the election. "He represents America. He's multiracial. I was hoping it would happen in my lifetime. My father was hoping it would happen in his lifetime, but he didn't get to see it. I'm lucky enough to have seen a person of color in the White House." Read the entire Urban Legends article.

Now, here is the email as I received it.

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This is something about Tiger Woods that everyone should know.
Subject: bonus pics

One Proud And Happy Family



The Woods family -- including newborn Charlie
(February 17, 2009) Tiger Woods family, (L-R) Sam, Elin, Tiger, Charlie Woods and their dogs Yogi (L) and Taz


AS IF YOU NEED ANOTHER REASON TO ADMIRE "AMERICA'S" TIGER WOODS.

Tiger Woods is a Highly Educated Individual who was properly raised and taught to be his own man by an educated Mother and Father. You can readily see that Tiger Woods listened to his parents and remains very proud of them both. Many citizens are not aware of the following, which is the reason for me sending this e-mail to my friends and I would appreciate you sending it on to your friends. Thanks, Frank


A COPY OF HIS SPEECH AT THE 2009 INAUGURATION

Tiger Woods received a special invitation to speak at the Obama inauguration. His inviters were stunned, shocked when he did not deliver the message they expected. A brief read and you will understand why the media swept Woods' remarks under the rug with no further ado and why the liberal left of our American society was again displeased with Tiger.

His speech was entitled "You'll Never Walk Alone"
[text is word-for-word as posted on Tiger's web site]



"I grew up in a military family - and my role models in life were my Mom and Dad, Lt. Colonel Earl Woods. My dad was a Special Forces operator and many nights friends would visit our home. They represented every branch of the service, and every rank. In my Dad, and in those guests, I saw first hand the dedication and commitment of those who serve. They come from every walk of life; from every part of our country. Time and again, across generations, they have defended our safety in the dark of night and far from home. Each day -- and particularly on this historic day --we honor the men and women in uniform who serve our country and protect our freedom.

They travel to the dangerous corners of the world, and we must remember that for every person who is in uniform, there are families who wait for them to come home safely.

I am honored that the military is such an important part, not just of my personal life, but of my professional one as well. The golf tournament we do each year here in Washington is a testament to those unsung heroes. I am the son of a man who dedicated his life to his country, family and the military, and I am a better person for it. In the summer of 1864, Abraham Lincoln, the man at whose memorial we stand, spoke to the 164th Ohio Regiment and said 'I am greatly obliged to you, and to all who have come forward at the call of their country.' Just as they have stood tall for our country - we must always stand by and support the men and women in uniform and their families.

Thank you, and it is now my pleasure to introduce the US Naval Glee Club ..."



Tiger Woods' 2-minute, 5-second tribute to the our nation's military was delivered January 18th at the Inaugural Celebration in Washington, DC. He had been subjected to intense pressure to attend and offer remarks. Especially so by liberals who have demeaned and criticized him for a decade for not joining their ranks. Yet, at the Lincoln Memorial, instead of paying homage to Barack Obama, Tiger paid tribute to our soldiers. not once did Tiger mention Obama, the inauguration or the new administration. Understanding that expressing his love for America and his appreciation for our military men and women would disappoint the national news media and the liberal left, he did what he thought was best for the people of our country. But Tiger is his own man, just as his father taught him to be his own man. Somewhere over that cold, gray Washington sky, Colonel Earl Woods was smiling down on his beloved son. And there will be one more crying hug waiting for Tiger when the time comes he passes through heaven's gates into God's arms.

What's that you say?

You did not previously know what Tiger said? You did not see a video clip of him speaking on any national television network? You did not see a photo of Tiger at the Lincoln Memorial offering his remarks honoring our military? You did not read a story in the NY Times? His appearance at the Inaugural Celebration had been widely hailed and promoted in advance by the Obama inaugural organizers ... yet January 18 when he came and spoke ... afterwards, a black out.

If you are as tired of the biased, hypocritical, liberal media hoopla as I am, please send this on to your friends. Thanks!

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There are a few videos of this speech on YouTube. Here is one:

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Will you give this to my Daddy?

As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support 'Red Fridays.'

Last week I was in Atlanta , Georgia , attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering..

When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work, and home without fear or reprisal.

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said 'hi.' The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her.

The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.

When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.

After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.'

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event.

As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers.

We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops.

Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers.

If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever; certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is...We need your support and your prayers.

Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.

IF YOU AGREE -- THEN SEND THIS ON


WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE.
THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED---- SO WEAR RED! --- MAY GOD HELP AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.