Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> 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
/ i! i5 j4 _/ \# I> same choice?
>
1 `5 L: ?; T: I# M, d7 q7 U> 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
& y. o( _- j8 B3 r! y- [: V9 Z> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
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  o8 B- S; s2 D> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
! @2 z6 A1 v4 y1 `> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
8 q* M: k1 e1 s> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
9 ?0 w# L5 p$ |0 ~3 E> natural order of things in my son?'
>
) y+ H! A- W" F, c, |> The audience was stilled by the query.
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) I( H9 f! {9 B, c4 F! W> 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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' f7 Z2 t9 j+ K* H0 V8 [> Then he told the following story:
>
/ V/ n9 a! U0 \( h2 q> 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
; b3 M  |# f) \+ Z> 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
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
! g9 C' n" i9 g0 X+ H. J- L3 l$ N> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
- @" \7 _8 P1 G7 S2 P> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
, P; g* q# Y1 D# q& q> 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
7 @, P1 }% E$ R> inning.'
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> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
  ^" u+ }# J" i> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
# K! _3 ^- v  D, d> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
. K/ u* x9 e/ S' D/ g5 j( F> 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
> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
* a7 ?: f" K7 w1 ?  p> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
/ c$ O, K$ `  L> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
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4 z5 P2 W1 C- y) P+ g> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
3 K, F! C% I6 U> 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.
4 ^% ^$ E1 d  s& o- W> 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
1 d' k& C( W' q7 t% Q% w> 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
> 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
> 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
> 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
$ |( X* L# f3 ?0 ~: O/ @> 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,
) D# V6 l; \7 f( I% i> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
6 t; P6 b, p6 L% l> 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
" M6 ?9 ^6 ^# h. x* @" H2 R' c> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
6 P& R! l9 A1 y" u1 p2 o) P; u' J5 X> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
  k) J- N4 U: u1 J' N, Z1 _4 a> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
% {9 \1 U" v$ l1 j1 `( c& T5 d7 A! _> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
; J* u% _% f1 g, V% _1 l> circled the bases toward home.
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> 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
. j. n) p( l+ F- X> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
+ V2 w, f1 Z8 S, R" h. g0 U4 |> Shay, run to third!'
>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
- E- q- u7 t8 G4 ]> 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.
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> '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'.
>
( K$ Z$ S' b% c0 d; ?8 ]+ w0 s> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
" o% w' K. G$ M/ Q> 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!
>
> 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
# [) q9 `) g5 G> 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.
>
> 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
' ]- m* w, F6 o3 i> '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
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
4 O$ E4 d  m1 P- N- `9 R. {> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
9 j  e7 B8 X! x0 k: V6 V& ^, T& }3 f> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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+ W3 B' l; a) Z> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
- y$ z7 E( q' d9 M  {+ t> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.