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
> same choice?
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- B( |7 z( H: {9 W" E7 C5 C> 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
/ E7 N9 Z8 B& H9 J  c" l$ g> staff, he offered a question:
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, H" }2 z, V- z- s( O( q> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
2 j6 _. ?) Y3 E5 x. V' {0 m. v> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
* N$ S8 I9 @, f" Z* g- z4 ^> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
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- k  U6 I' ~  T. j1 Y> The audience was stilled by the query.
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  _. M7 ^2 ?+ \1 \. m/ P> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
8 r! ~+ I' G( D+ _4 r6 |& x> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
5 p7 P) E9 ~; F- E: \  w& H1 C> 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:
>
> 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
& m6 r9 M4 L' d/ e# {1 H. r( _> 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.
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: @" y- {7 i+ c/ m/ I6 o> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
2 b+ h6 t' _3 t1 J4 L> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
: G$ T% Y% f9 M+ o  K& k: E, E8 m> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
8 d9 F8 S- @! {1 R> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
7 B! J' w; C" _; P  w: g> inning.'
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> 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
> 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! _+ Z) j> 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
, g+ g. J, `' R> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
# n" k( k7 }' J7 D8 X& i8 x> 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
1 V" c. D6 G/ R9 u6 C2 p. P1 x> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
7 {( }! v# Z4 a" P! C> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
1 o6 `3 z. A9 y; L; G4 h> much less connect with the ball.
( [) a- J- I5 d6 ?# D. W7 s$ k8 _> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
" P* W; w' ]) |6 o8 P, t> 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
% \) A6 l. M  }> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
) B7 \3 v( J, G; F3 [> 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
; j6 {/ _$ s% G4 \2 R" c0 k8 v: c> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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> 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
9 Q1 Y4 p. g6 P# ^% [> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
/ k# e  i( i, B> wide-eyed and startled.
>
. e  i% `6 v' n2 l: W9 H9 ~6 h0 ^2 y> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
2 D4 P, [6 @" ~+ R3 M> 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
> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
7 A7 o3 Q$ ]6 w$ A6 y2 x> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
> 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
> 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
9 Q. b6 Y# H5 l0 m' M0 H- N> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
* B7 s4 a' P6 c" q8 O+ b+ I> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
$ w, Y- J3 Q7 r" H  r, Q9 k> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
3 I+ a7 Q, r5 @3 T( D# {9 Y> game for his team.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
9 x* |! T/ h% o2 ?+ b- e, E> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
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! Z, R4 V& j3 a8 p9 i. q> 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!
>
" a. T, M! f0 G, g0 y5 Q> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
, T, p4 O, y' }# K% ^> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
' K& ]0 q" m5 N6 s2 a" S9 W6 A1 J> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
2 ^3 I& ]: f' Y% O> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
# Q3 i( j$ ^, q9 D& g. q> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
1 Q/ a% K7 W! N( ~9 ?) _> 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
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
- d9 h5 W% P6 v' m- W: g1 E9 D> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
3 z3 @) R+ B' @" h: q! d> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
$ d& k0 f$ V5 F9 `! a> bit colder in the process?
>
* _) z% `' n# p- F: [$ b" y1 y' I> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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# ^1 {7 Y4 d" H( ~4 `- n4 t* t6 R> You now have two choices:
7 N; f- a, D7 T0 z1 n> 1. Delete
# _( p8 u) N, Z6 L& a. _, k> 2. Forward
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" d! M8 [3 I1 o> May your day, be a Shay Day.