Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
6 ]! U1 g, u( q; e" ~+ @$ _& h$ m) }> same choice?
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, V% d5 s; i. s/ x" k> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
+ o$ V( r9 _3 S* w> staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
. Q; r! I( N4 O6 ?" X* X. G8 ^9 k+ k> natural order of things in my son?'
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2 u$ A/ [$ J  T$ d9 U6 G> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
! Y* l& E0 H  t  B, ~/ ?5 g> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
>
8 X1 r! W+ c( p4 w7 `! x> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
. D5 H5 S# y- B9 ]> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
7 n9 o; ]: X! A# s' ]3 v; r> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
9 {' v0 |' G! m5 a: a, ]> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
' T6 u5 b5 ]% }$ x3 P> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
6 a& _( x  Z( `> inning.'
>
* e/ Q1 V/ s) z" {2 J; H& Z> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
2 x' Q4 i) H. V& \7 W0 ^3 X> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
* Z# X, ]9 h3 q. I> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
; L; t$ K! V( Y+ `0 u' a/ `> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
, ?' J7 ?" g2 m* E+ y0 g> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
4 U8 d3 [0 j. N! l* t> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
2 c: ]# R% s" X. q> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
9 ~2 l" E1 z+ I3 {' Z2 }> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
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& \" P3 l6 W/ B9 A  h; V, @" G: u9 q> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
! N* ?% G8 R0 o6 m  L> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
( o1 ?* ~2 P4 ^3 m( z6 B> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
( O$ i: ?/ N+ E> much less connect with the ball.
7 _' u+ c: k1 M8 q3 B> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
5 c, w' Q2 E: x9 H) k> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
6 u' c5 @- S' Q( B8 p> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
$ h4 }$ E$ G- I) n3 ~( B& _  |: S5 v: B> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
: U$ ?4 g- ]7 L: `. n4 J. @. w! ^> right back to the pitcher.
>
$ ?* ]0 H; y9 g9 p0 x9 l" ?) G0 Y$ \> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
# g- k& ^6 t) K/ {( t' a8 P> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
- ]6 q: K& L3 R- W> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
! M$ \# d) T0 \$ h- @* O> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
/ j% A' J0 o- C: N! A$ O- ]8 i  \3 _> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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/ b1 y9 X3 R: h2 ~> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
  m; X1 f  g7 N1 W6 B. J$ v> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
5 E1 J8 H  Z" e3 f% Q( V> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
9 e  s* a* i4 I, y1 U> circled the bases toward home.
>
- g; S% h: K3 @+ ?> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
  g8 _/ T5 Y0 s; P; t> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
7 @9 }8 J; q0 P( t0 g> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
# O( o; K) a. T4 ?+ Q3 n' }. s2 c2 ^> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
0 H0 p2 U' n" R1 }% t, T) C1 _+ J3 \> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
( A* s, q- a! A& [7 j/ A) j> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
6 R8 F  i9 B0 j  K, @$ [3 Z& _> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
& t& b/ g% }1 Z( l) Z> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
% x4 {: h' U; I1 W> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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' b, @1 B& n) r0 y! Q% S( t1 E> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
$ N  j4 V( n% Z9 u( T- N> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
9 v+ }4 [, `! O- j& z4 l> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
% E+ |/ _9 z  A6 y3 i> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
) h0 M6 M2 V4 n  w1 N> bit colder in the process?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
6 _% J& N1 n3 Z0 Q. E8 B> You now have two choices:
% W+ N$ O# c- S8 ^4 h8 M# y% D> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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- q( w7 w1 D! p5 Z> May your day, be a Shay Day.