Before the astronaut, Eastern
airlines was led by another…….his story:
From: lbrunasso@aol.com
Date: 5/19/2016 3:32:11 PM
Subject: An old guy and a bucket of shrimp
An old guy
and a bucket of shrimp;
This is a wonderful story and it is true. You
will be pleased that you read it,
and I believe you will pass it on. It is an important piece of American history.
It happened every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembled a giant orange and
was starting to dip into the blue ocean.
Old Ed came strolling along the beach to his favorite pier. Clutched in his bony
hand was a bucket of shrimp. Ed walks out to the end of the pier, where it seems
he almost has the world to himself. The glow of the sun
is a golden bronze now.
Everybody's
gone, except for a few joggers on the beach. Standing out on the
end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts...and his bucket of
shrimp.
Before long, however, he is no
longer alone. Up in the sky a thousand white dots come
screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing
there on the end of the pier.
Before
long, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly.
Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does, if you
listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, 'Thank you. Thank
you.'
In a few short minutes the
bucket is empty. But Ed doesn't leave. He stands there lost
in thought, as though transported to another time and
place.
When he finally turns around
and begins to walk back toward the beach, a few of the birds hop
along the pier with him until he gets to the stairs, and then they, too,
fly away. And old Ed quietly makes his way down to the end of the beach
and on home.
If you were sitting there
on the pier with your fishing line in the water, Ed might seem like 'a
funny old duck,' as my dad used to say. Or, to onlookers, he's just
another old codger, lost in his own weird world, feeding the seagulls
with a bucket full of shrimp.
To the
onlooker, rituals can look either very strange or very empty. They can seem altogether
unimportant ....
This is a wonderful story and it is true. You
will be pleased that you read it,
and I believe you will pass it on. It is an important piece of American history.
It happened every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembled a giant orange and
was starting to dip into the blue ocean.
Old Ed came strolling along the beach to his favorite pier. Clutched in his bony
hand was a bucket of shrimp. Ed walks out to the end of the pier, where it seems
he almost has the world to himself. The glow of the sun
is a golden bronze now.
Everybody's
gone, except for a few joggers on the beach. Standing out on the
end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts...and his bucket of
shrimp.
Before long, however, he is no
longer alone. Up in the sky a thousand white dots come
screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing
there on the end of the pier.
Before
long, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly.
Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does, if you
listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, 'Thank you. Thank
you.'
In a few short minutes the
bucket is empty. But Ed doesn't leave. He stands there lost
in thought, as though transported to another time and
place.
When he finally turns around
and begins to walk back toward the beach, a few of the birds hop
along the pier with him until he gets to the stairs, and then they, too,
fly away. And old Ed quietly makes his way down to the end of the beach
and on home.
If you were sitting there
on the pier with your fishing line in the water, Ed might seem like 'a
funny old duck,' as my dad used to say. Or, to onlookers, he's just
another old codger, lost in his own weird world, feeding the seagulls
with a bucket full of shrimp.
To the
onlooker, rituals can look either very strange or very empty. They can seem altogether
unimportant ....
Most
of them would probably
write Old Ed off, down there in Florida ... That's too bad.
They'd do well to know him better.
His
full name: Eddie Rickenbacker. He was a famous hero in World War I, and then he was in WWII.
On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his
seven-member crew went down. Miraculously, all of the men survived, crawled out
of their plane, and climbed into a life
raft.
Captain Rickenbacker and his
crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific. They
fought the sun. They fought sharks. Most of all, they fought hunger and
thirst. By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food. No water. They
were hundreds of miles from land and no one knew where they were or
even if they were alive. Every day across America millions wondered
and prayed that Eddie Rickenbacker might somehow be found alive.
The men adrift needed a miracle. That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and
prayed for a miracle. They tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and
pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged on. All he could hear was
the slap of the waves against the raft...
Suddenly, Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap. It was a
seagull!
Old Ed would later describe
how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of
his hand and a squawk from the gull, he managed to grab it and wring its
neck. He tore the feathers off, and he and his starving crew made a
meal of it - a very slight meal for eight men. Then they used the
intestines for bait. With it, theycaught fish, which gave them food and more
bait . . . and the cycle continued. With that simple
survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the
sea until they were
found and rescued after 24 days at
sea.
Eddie Rickenbacker lived many
years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of
that first life-saving seagull... And he never stopped saying, 'Thank
you.' That's why almost every Friday night he would walk to the end of
the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of
gratitude
Reference:
(Max Lucado, "In The Eye of the
Storm", pp...221, 225-226)
PS: Eddie
Rickenbacker was the founder of Eastern Airlines. Before WWI he was
race car driver. In WWI he was a pilot and became America 's first ace. In WWII he
was an instructor and military adviser, and he flew missions
with the combat pilots. Eddie Rickenbacker is a true American
hero. And now you know another storyabout the trials and sacrifices that
brave men have endured for
your
freedom.
write Old Ed off, down there in Florida ... That's too bad.
They'd do well to know him better.
His
full name: Eddie Rickenbacker. He was a famous hero in World War I, and then he was in WWII.
On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his
seven-member crew went down. Miraculously, all of the men survived, crawled out
of their plane, and climbed into a life
raft.
Captain Rickenbacker and his
crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific. They
fought the sun. They fought sharks. Most of all, they fought hunger and
thirst. By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food. No water. They
were hundreds of miles from land and no one knew where they were or
even if they were alive. Every day across America millions wondered
and prayed that Eddie Rickenbacker might somehow be found alive.
The men adrift needed a miracle. That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and
prayed for a miracle. They tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and
pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged on. All he could hear was
the slap of the waves against the raft...
Suddenly, Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap. It was a
seagull!
Old Ed would later describe
how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of
his hand and a squawk from the gull, he managed to grab it and wring its
neck. He tore the feathers off, and he and his starving crew made a
meal of it - a very slight meal for eight men. Then they used the
intestines for bait. With it, theycaught fish, which gave them food and more
bait . . . and the cycle continued. With that simple
survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the
sea until they were
found and rescued after 24 days at
sea.
Eddie Rickenbacker lived many
years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of
that first life-saving seagull... And he never stopped saying, 'Thank
you.' That's why almost every Friday night he would walk to the end of
the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of
gratitude
Reference:
(Max Lucado, "In The Eye of the
Storm", pp...221, 225-226)
PS: Eddie
Rickenbacker was the founder of Eastern Airlines. Before WWI he was
race car driver. In WWI he was a pilot and became America 's first ace. In WWII he
was an instructor and military adviser, and he flew missions
with the combat pilots. Eddie Rickenbacker is a true American
hero. And now you know another storyabout the trials and sacrifices that
brave men have endured for
your
freedom.
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