Charlie Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. He flew 74 consecutive successful combat missions. However on his 75th mission, his F4Phantom fighter was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile and he was forced to eject. The only thing between him and imminent death was his parachute that he prayed would open. The parachute did open and Charlie made it down to the ground alive, but he was captured and spent 6 years as a prisoner of war in a Vietnamese prison camp.
One day, many years after returning to his homeland, Charlie and his wife were sitting in a little restaurant in Kansas City when he noticed two tables over was this guy who kept looking at him.
Charlie looked back but didn’t recognize him, but he kept catching this guy staring at him. Finally the guy stood up and walked over to Charlie’s table and said, “You’re Captain Plumb.”Charlie looked up at him and said, “Yes, I am Captain Plumb.”The guy said,“ You’re that guy. You flew jet fighters in Vietnam. You’re a fighter pilot, part of that ‘Top Gun’ outfit. You launched from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, you parachuted into enemy territory and you spent six years as a prisoner of war.”
Somewhat dumbfounded, Charlie looked up at the guy and asked, “How in the world did you know all that?” The man chuckled and said, “Because I packed your parachute.”
Charlie was speechless. The man grabbed Charlie’s hand and pumped his arm and said, “I guess it worked,” and walked off.
Charlie laid awake that night, thinking about all the times he had walked through the long narrow room, below sea level on the aircraft carrier, with the tables where the men packed the parachutes. He wondered how many times he must have walked past this man without even saying “hi,” “good morning” or “good job” or “I appreciate what you do.”
“How many times did I pass the man whose job would eventually save my life...because I was a jet jockey, a top gun racing around the sky at twice the speed of sound; because I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor? ” he asked himself.
Think about this for yourself. How many times in life do you pass the people who help you out the most? The people who come out of the far corners of your life just when you need them the most and pack your parachutes for you? The people who go the extra mile, the people who don’t look for the kudos or the accolades or the achievement medal or even the bonus check—the folks who are just out there packing parachutes?
查理•普拉姆是一名越戰時美國海軍噴氣機飛行員。他曾駕機連續成功執行了74次戰斗任務。然而，在他第75此執行任務時，他的F4幽靈戰斗機被一發地對空導彈炸毀，他被彈射了出去。唯一能夠從死亡的邊緣挽救他的就是隨身帶的降落傘，他祈禱著傘能打開。結果，降落傘順利打開了，查理得以活著著陸，但被敵軍俘虜，在越南監獄里被關了6年。
他回到祖國很多年后的一天，查理和妻子坐在堪薩斯城的一個小飯館里，發現隔著兩桌，有個人一直在看他。
查理回看了那人，發現不是熟人，但余光卻瞥見那個人還在盯著他。終于，那人站起來走向查理的桌子，對他說：“你是普拉姆機長。”查理抬起頭看著他說：“沒錯，我是普拉姆機長�！蹦侨死^續說：“就是你，你在越南駕駛噴氣戰斗機，你是個戰斗機飛行員，穿著飛行服的‘精英一族’。你從吉提霍克號航空母艦起飛，跳傘落到了敵軍陣營，后來作為戰俘被關了六年。”
查理聽完幾乎目瞪口呆，他抬頭看著那個人問道：“你怎么，怎么會知道所有這些？”那人呵呵笑道：“因為我幫你打包整理的降落傘�！�
查理一句話都說不出來。那人抓住查理的手，拉著他的胳膊說：“我想降落傘真的起作用了，”然后就轉身走了。
當天晚上查理失眠了，想到在潛入水下的航母上，他走過那間長長的狹窄的房間，許多人圍著桌子為飛行員打包降落傘。他想到自己不知有多少次曾與那個人擦身而過，卻都沒有說一句“你好”，“早上好”，或是“干得好”，“對你做的我很感激”之類的話。
“我有多少次走過那個最終救了我命的人身邊卻無視他？因為我是個飛行員，是個駕駛兩倍于音速的飛機的‘精英一族’；是個戰斗機飛行員而他僅僅是個水手？”他質問自己。
回過頭想想自己吧。人生中有多少次你曾無視地走過幫助你最多的人？那個看似離你的生活最遠，卻在最需要的時候默默替你打包降落傘的人？那些多付出一些的人，那些不求功名利祿，不求獎章甚至好處的人——那些僅僅是打包降落傘的人？
Vocabulary:
1. Jet jockey: 戰斗機駕駛員；top gun: 高手，第一把手，團隊中技術高超的人。
2. go the extra mile: 多付出，多花精力；kudos: 榮譽，稱贊；accolade: 表揚，嘉獎； bonus check: 獎金支票。
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