Who Packed Your Parachute?

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Feb 232015
 

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience!

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!”

“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.

“I packed your parachute,” the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!” Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder 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.” Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?” Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory – he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.

 

10 Amazing Paper Tricks!

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Feb 232015
 

10 Amazing Paper Tricks! Here are some fun tricks you can try just about anywhere.

Enjoy!

10 Amazing Paper Tricks! Here are some fun tricks you can try just about anywhere.

I’ve included the list of tricks and some of them include download links to templates.

#1 Impossible paper
Template: http://imgur.com/RVofGgw

An oldie but a goodie. Trick you friends with this super simple but cool trick.

#2 Perpetual Spinner
Template: http://imgur.com/FMnJ1v0

This one takes advantage of rising heat to spin the paper. Be careful when doing this experiment. The paper could catch fire.

#3 Walk Thru Paper
Template: http://imgur.com/9ODGLfR

Another oldie but a goodie. The tighter you make the lines, the bigger the hole it will create.

#4 Annoying Noise Maker

This one is super easy and really annoying

#5 Ruler Breaker

Using nothing but a piece of paper to “hold” down the ruler, you can break it.

#6 Möbius strip

If you take a strip of paper, twist it half way and tape the ends, then cut down the middle, the 2 pieces of paper will join and make 1 large loop
If you take the ends and twist them a full time and tape them together then cut down the middle, it will create 2 linked loops.

#7 Impossible Fold

This trick has some controversy. Some say you can’t fold more than 7 times, more than 8, or more. It also depends on the thickness of the paper and the make up of the paper. Generally though, it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible to fold ordinary sheets of paper more than 8 times.

#8 Blooming Flower
Template: http://imgur.com/638zNAp

This one is very impressive. Be sure to use just a little layer of water. You can make different sizes and shapes of flowers. Some times they will bloom fast and other times slow.

#9 Paper Popper

This one is super fun, because you can create it almost anywhere. It takes a little practice. You want to make sure to seal off all of the holes in your hand and when you “clap” your hands together you’re trying to create a nice air pocket that forces the paper out. If you get really good, you can create extremely loud pops.

#10 Super Paper Strength
Template: http://imgur.com/WQbwbyI

The “tighter” you can make these the stronger it will be. Obviously you could cut thinner strips and have 10, 15, separate cylinders but to me, the taller and fewer the cylinders the more impressive it looks. I calculated that with the 6 cylinders I had, it could hold at least 150 pounds. Be careful when trying this trick.

 

10 Amazing Paper Tricks

 

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