Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
4 l6 l  j( _6 |>
; |' H6 u; p- y6 Z) ~5 K> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
5 t- `9 T2 p. N/ u) u: P! q( z> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
+ Z! _9 h6 l# C. r/ H0 }5 b& R. f- y>
# t% \+ x, H( W; d> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
  i" [) J4 |+ V' A8 P> 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:
>
- e, e3 O/ d3 W' V3 M> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
$ N( u' E. q* `8 P6 n; [0 `* h' N> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
& l. G: K, V1 I> natural order of things in my son?'
* f  [! A7 F( A& ?; ~" `>
! a: U$ ~8 i, u> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
+ I7 x+ b  K# X  Z3 o> 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.'
" c3 |+ ]: o& v" u( |& @. K6 `+ A, J>
$ y1 D; `9 p  b5 ^! b> Then he told the following story:
8 V: [) X2 E9 q& E& L: _, F! B>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
( u! k) {. F, N4 B3 B% i> 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,
3 T7 z' A; R" I' l' T> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> 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
6 g7 G( k; g- y+ H3 u> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
, K- ]) r; C. j* s> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
) y) q" Y4 @8 P3 Z+ _> inning.'
( H$ U. \" ~! H* i>
$ _% z9 J9 }/ e, Z5 m9 H5 x> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
5 K2 W' q/ s6 k7 m2 U/ \> 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
' @0 [, k  r! ^> 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
) M. j/ A" e; p+ f> 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
" z6 a- s0 \. b) x1 z> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
4 v- c! z3 b0 G, q  T- ~; r/ t> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
' k# H  T7 P$ d* t# u' q3 I> next at bat.
>
$ w2 T$ I2 A) G6 Y2 s> 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,
9 _6 D. Q8 i. g8 q5 d> 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
> 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
) o$ {& x( Y- B/ i# J> right back to the pitcher.
>
: Y9 G1 C4 i2 u3 l- M> 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.
>
8 O5 B1 h0 [) _- |% V! ]> 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
) W2 _5 {/ @, C- m> 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,
1 k) E7 E6 e. b> wide-eyed and startled.
>
0 O; I# T4 e$ U* q9 Z> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
/ V8 B6 Q+ H. {> 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
% `2 S7 ]2 [5 s5 e+ Q+ d3 e' }> 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
> 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
$ a  P# a1 c( X+ W( g* m1 }7 ~> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
: |& O0 S) p- p6 S& i> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
4 R& K: S# p( a* Y: y>
3 ^6 F5 m, q$ {& ?! \2 Q> 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!'
>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
) v) j8 D9 N' b* Q: \> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
( F( g& x: v# Z+ B  V& P+ L' C4 e> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
>
) C% c- p5 b1 R1 Y" D4 F1 t+ J+ }> '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
9 ~: g& o# f5 |6 K! v. Q> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
- B9 i+ D7 }0 I; F> 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!
  I% b  E5 N5 a% O; E# x8 n: }0 }8 u" q>
: k$ O' {7 y" s! z) \+ u9 g) b! L6 L> 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
> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
$ L2 |4 [! _  C% W5 b0 d4 K8 S> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
+ N' E7 |9 V! I% w1 M' \& Y2 H> 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
4 v( X! z  p' [/ Z+ i5 d% M> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
1 o' `* R  ~% H! k> 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
> 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
> bit colder in the process?
>
1 C- R1 q( N% ~7 K> A wise man once said every society is judged by
# L( c, A* q) @) ^. F- b9 G> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
4 B6 Q" c3 y) A/ a5 @>
> You now have two choices:
' s3 q/ T6 P% P( F> 1. Delete
" m# Q9 k1 |8 G. b/ H" W( V& U: F> 2. Forward
8 D; p! O$ }! N+ X( W>
4 d8 z7 N) N% d9 t> May your day, be a Shay Day.