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Ferg

Old Man With A Bucket Of Shrimp

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Being that I am now 81 years young I like to think about old things and what old folks do. Thought some of you folks might enjoy this.

Subject: Old man and a bucket of shrimp

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 ....maybe even a lot of nonsense.

Old folks often do 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 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, 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.

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 story about the trials and

sacrifices that brave men have endured for your freedom.

As you can see, I chose to pass it on. It is a great story that many

don't know...You've got to be careful with old guys, you just never

know what they have done during their lifetime.

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yup.... and i have read your site about your garden and log home that you built. My cousin has also built one similar to yours... he even built a wood fired pizza / bread oven on the kitchen side of the massive fireplace stack... You have many accomplishments in your life! You Rock!! PS.. you are the same age as my dad

Keep living Life and love what you do.

Family is everything..

Lew

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Thanks for posting that. I enjoyed reading it.

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Thanks for posting that story! Awesome.

I found this newspaper article to go along with your story. http://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/581943

Bill

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Thanks for posting the story!

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biglew,

Thank you. I love my family, my wife especially because she is my best friend. I have had a full life and done many things many folks only dream of.

In a couple weeks maybe, I will have hearing aids so I can hear the birds singing and my loving wife speaking to me.

ferg

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billybopp,

Thanks for the link. What a great story!!!!!

To everyone else who responded, Thank You. Isn't this medium fantastic?

ferg

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Thanks for posting this great story.

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Among other things, he was a Medal of Honor recipient. Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base is named in his honor. It is home to the 121st Air Refueling Wing, one of our sister wings. I serve the 161st ARW in Phx, AZ.

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