Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
1 }; ?5 Y& U8 w: d; k1 v> 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
> same choice?
>
" D: r; N, x8 _. F> 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
> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
) g. e1 }/ M- n) D( |> 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
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
* V+ J4 n- ~6 i7 b0 t1 F> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> 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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& T& o+ v. `$ M9 z# r& s  n3 }4 s' `> Then he told the following story:
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1 }8 x9 ~3 u2 r1 c& `1 @- s5 t> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
2 ~! e& e( H; K5 P> 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
# L) u; H, p0 G* K( b7 L$ V> 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
0 G& r- ?8 U# a8 B2 @7 X> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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( X6 T% c/ A, v5 C> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
0 d" Z! L. \  j% z6 W> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
' R3 ~: g) O7 _" [# V6 J8 r> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
6 p$ J. R/ p* o$ n> inning.'
>
5 q1 M  {; S1 }0 }1 ~/ C% U> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
$ g) o$ S% N# e6 R" Y> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
/ _3 \6 J7 e3 t/ ~) }- 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
* N1 Y" z8 c, E, Q> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
) k  t, g/ ?0 J0 E; l! D# i+ L. u> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
5 v3 O$ E7 ^; W" s6 f' V> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
) H- G7 M$ t1 U* {> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
2 F0 ^8 l& P' V# K  j! d+ }1 u+ ~>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
$ t0 }0 f' V0 T; }> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
& i3 ~" ^7 L& v2 r! d( \1 ~, n> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
5 P/ G' M: g% x> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
+ a4 M  f8 h- Y7 F' K: f/ _. j> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
$ l4 t, K6 r' U$ A# r> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
+ j$ f# B. A4 K/ H> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
+ {7 p7 T* D( [$ q" a/ O! F> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
) p( n  b& Q2 W) M" |  c> 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
  C, A( ~( b9 D; \7 g+ x> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
; }/ W% j. J( z# z2 o> wide-eyed and startled.
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7 ]# v$ @/ R0 a- [> 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
! m3 C6 h8 ?  h- }) A> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
" D; K5 m) F6 [6 h' J( I> 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,
0 j2 `# B9 e6 W' s2 w8 x> 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
/ t: j( u" _( t, D0 |! I/ {> circled the bases toward home.
>
> 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
7 y+ y/ M0 J+ K* g> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
+ K# V- K" u' U" {- x3 W> Shay, run to third!'
6 j7 `& ?- @& n9 I3 R* [$ ]) \; a>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
' [! i) s% _1 d> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
, S7 ~+ k" p; V+ \> 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'.
>
6 I$ ?9 e4 j2 l1 @7 ^  Y- E3 j1 k5 T2 Z> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
0 K- c7 q6 e0 U. e1 f> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
# l2 N; g4 M* t: ?>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
# X2 Z9 [* f0 S6 M$ ~. Q. C, b7 j( q> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
- O7 Q* v7 P# m/ m> 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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- T8 `# H  |3 x( g2 j( c& ]> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
2 [# ^. S4 G2 C/ {' s  U, w+ w> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
, K3 f7 ]  {* e. E5 z> '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
0 S; Z/ b: `% q" G! }1 l> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
2 `  m. z$ A: R# g. S> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
$ h! ?/ R- g! S: [0 u  f> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
>
& h- }5 w: P% ~4 d* n+ Q> A wise man once said every society is judged by
9 F1 R0 a0 Q$ X( N- a2 x( P1 ]> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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/ x' c7 G: ^$ u1 s. q+ h> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.