this is from my brother Haywood, not the author but a hell of a e-mail man :+)
I loved this story and I hope it is one of many
that happens everyday. D :)
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.' 
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