Good Story Worth Reading
Old Guy and a Bucket of Shrimp . . . a True Story
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 in
Coconut Grove , Florida . 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, 'a guy that's a sandwich shy of a picnic,' as my kids
might say. 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 ....maybe even a lot of
nonsense. Old folks often do strange things, at least in the eyes of
Boomers and Busters. 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 back in
World War I and II, earning the Medal of Honor during WW I. During
WW2, he carried out special assignments for Henry Stimson, the
Secretary of War. In October, 1942, flying in a B-17 over the
Pacific, on such a mission to Douglas MacArthur, the plane went down
in the Pacific. 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..
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. They 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. 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 - a very slight meal for
eight men - of it. Then they used the intestines for bait.. With
it, they caught 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).
Rickenbacker later wrote a book about the experience titled Seven
Came Through.
Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never
forgot the sacrifice of that first lifesaving 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,
PS: Eddie started Eastern Airlines.
United States Aviator Badge
Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross World War I Victory Medal
Croix de guerre (WWI)
Now you know the rest of the story.
Old Guy and a Bucket of Shrimp . . . a True Story
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 in
Coconut Grove , Florida . 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, 'a guy that's a sandwich shy of a picnic,' as my kids
might say. 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 ....maybe even a lot of
nonsense. Old folks often do strange things, at least in the eyes of
Boomers and Busters. 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 back in
World War I and II, earning the Medal of Honor during WW I. During
WW2, he carried out special assignments for Henry Stimson, the
Secretary of War. In October, 1942, flying in a B-17 over the
Pacific, on such a mission to Douglas MacArthur, the plane went down
in the Pacific. 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..
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. They 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. 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 - a very slight meal for
eight men - of it. Then they used the intestines for bait.. With
it, they caught 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).
Rickenbacker later wrote a book about the experience titled Seven
Came Through.
Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never
forgot the sacrifice of that first lifesaving 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,
PS: Eddie started Eastern Airlines.
United States Aviator Badge
Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross World War I Victory Medal
Croix de guerre (WWI)
Now you know the rest of the story.
