before and after photos

Email From my dad ( he is not the publisher )

Subject: caring
 
  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.

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