Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
( D) }" j- P% e0 _> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
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> 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:
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9 o, D9 C; q- m4 |> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
$ X, Q7 q. p/ h. G* {; a7 ^> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
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' g( Q! F0 N% @8 t> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
9 A; y3 n5 q, F2 \- G: Z> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
7 }2 Z3 ~( f, N. B) A8 M4 S> treat that child.'
>
+ f/ D- |9 y0 a2 e) X2 z0 Y> Then he told the following story:
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* `9 i: H- e2 E' _> 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
& H5 W. ~) e, H> 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
9 G  l( Q/ T7 e9 w> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
; [! S! f/ ]0 Z! ^* V* z% I> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
  A$ b" w! a, G7 z0 E6 T' h9 ]> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
> 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
> inning.'
>
$ T' H/ m& }7 l* [+ ^> 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
9 ?% @, t# Y- Q% j> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
4 L3 F1 |: g" k( N# n  m1 B> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
9 X( f/ H3 w3 j9 O- K- r. S/ o> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
> 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
% T" P: }# M) ^4 m> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
> 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
> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
0 w! Q! U. J. |) g/ \> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
0 U- K. b5 e3 i0 C& n6 z6 F# |> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
  u, t2 K) g. z# Q& Q> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
: g; |/ ~! H: e' k6 x> 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
# f# n6 J7 u! @" w9 Q> 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
> 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
- L0 W' C# ~) ^# x> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
( ]/ [- T. }8 Q6 g% s1 J& D7 F> wide-eyed and startled.
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> 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
7 O1 Q$ v% z0 Z( c5 E' Q5 l, |> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
, c$ V! [* s6 G, i" |+ q1 p> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
: B2 O& t- \+ O6 W8 O" m> 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
+ \6 Z2 I! [, |> circled the bases toward home.
>
: s" C- S, O# l9 S. K0 J# H> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
5 J6 f9 ]3 G( v# p/ I$ x> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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( m- H7 J4 u5 F> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
5 S- |" C5 s. T2 a  V' C8 w9 n8 w> 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
> 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'.
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; \) ]$ E0 t; Y, O. i! h$ D> 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
> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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> 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
& u7 w" x6 F; q> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
4 C* ^1 A: r' `, L> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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> 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
6 a$ Y6 S/ X. h1 _/ b0 I# Y> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
( e) e; D3 e! u! k! }> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
9 }5 x" E/ ^% t# ~3 j$ B* \> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> 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.
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9 O* ?$ \3 A" U  m> You now have two choices:
' s; s* u9 x+ V2 L* e$ `; R9 h> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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/ g7 @0 A/ h& c! `; e; U) K) {$ c> May your day, be a Shay Day.