Long weekend

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I have Monday off. Friday was the end of the 1st term, so Monday is a "work day" for some of the teachers. But not me. :-) So last week, I started plotting what I could do for the long weekend. The last time I had more than the weekend off, I went to Prague with my mom in November. So, I was wanting to travel...wander-lust, I guess they call it. So I was looking at train schedules to Arad, Romania. I have never been. I already had a trip to Szeged planned, but only for Friday night. Wasn't sure what I was going to do afterwards.

So, I went down to Szeged and attended the Friday at 7 worship and Bible study. It was great to see my friends Arden, Persons, and Mary Jill. An old friend Sherry was even in from Ukraine for the weekend. At some point in the evening, Arden said she'd be up to going to Arad with me...hhmmm looking up!

So after the meeting, Arden, Mary Jill, Sherry, and I went back to Arden's flat to watch a movie. I was exhausted. I slept 4 hours the night before and taught 5 lessons before taking the train to Szeged. I put my earplugs in when I went to bed and was dead to the world until 10:45am! I guess I needed the sleep. I had some breakfast with MJ and we chatted a bit. MJ and Sherry left for Debrecen around noon. Arden and I played around with pictures and videos I took at the meeting, so we didn't get around to going to Arad. We went out to get food at Tesco for dinner..made several stops looking for a waffle iron. I made dinner while Arden talked to her folks in America. We watched Lake House (I had never seen it) and now I'm heading to bed soon.

Tomorrow, Arden and I are getting up early to drive to Arad (about an hour away.) We'll come back to Szeged by about 3pm for church on the internet (part of life in Hungary) and then I'll take train back to Budapest. I think I'll take it easy on Monday, maybe run some errands that I usually can't because of my work schedule.

So, what I thought was going to be a fun, adventurous weekend, turned into a nice relaxing time at Arden's place.

Guess God knew I really needed that.

Who's Packing Your Parachute?

I found this on another site. No copyright infringement intended.

Who's Packing Your Parachute?

Recently, I was sitting in a restaurant in Kansas City. A man about two tables away kept looking at me. I didn't recognize him. A few minutes into our meal he stood up and walked over to my table, looked down at me, pointed his finger in my face and said, "You're Captain Plumb."

I looked up and I said, "Yes, sir, I'm Captain Plumb."

He said, "You flew jet fighters in Vietnam. You were on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down. You parachuted into enemy hands and spent six years as a prisoner of war."

I said, "How in the world did you know all that?"

He replied, "Because I packed your parachute."

I was speechless. I staggered to my feet and held out a very grateful hand of thanks. This guy came up with just the proper words. He grabbed my hand, he pumped my arm and said, "I guess it worked."

"Yes, sir, indeed it did," I said, "and I must tell you I've said a lot of prayers of thanks for your nimble fingers, but I never thought I'd have the opportunity to express my gratitude in person."

He said, "Were all the panels there?"

"Well, sir, I must shoot straight with you," I said, "of the eighteen panels that were supposed to be in that parachute, I had fifteen good ones. Three were torn, but it wasn't your fault, it was mine. I jumped out of that jet fighter at a high rate of speed, close to the ground. That's what tore the panels in the chute. It wasn't the way you packed it."

"Let me ask you a question," I said, "do you keep track of all the parachutes you pack?"

"No," he responded, "it's enough gratification for me just to know that I've served."

I didn't get much sleep that night. I kept thinking about that man. I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform -- a Dixie Cup hat, a bib in the back and bell-bottom trousers. I wondered how many times I might have passed him on board the Kitty Hawk. I wondered how many times I might have seen him and not even said "Good morning," "How are you," or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor. How many hours did he spend on that long wooden table in the bowels of that ship weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of those chutes? I couldn't have cared less...until one day my parachute came along and he packed it for me.

So the philosophical question here is this: how's your parachute packing coming along? Who looks to you for strength in times of need? And perhaps, more importantly, who are the special people in your life who provide you the encouragement you need when the chips are down? Perhaps it's time right now to give those people a call and thank them for packing your chute.

J. Charles Plumb

Teaching blog

My teaching blog has been updated. There's a great story at the beginning of it...read on...