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
5 @' [' [) w% C" k4 e> 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
; ?. m* U' Q4 n> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
1 C3 s1 |- ?( E! p) u4 `0 x& p$ [> staff, he offered a question:
>
. x8 v9 z! l- D2 L> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
) U! ?; I+ Y$ O+ ^) l% M& c9 s> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
; ~9 ^' i# c4 U0 `( r> natural order of things in my son?'
>
9 |  i( s; M9 f9 B$ V. i1 f/ D> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
  t8 X3 x$ ~9 G; B% D* p> 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
% e1 e9 i/ H& o( s; H0 t& {> treat that child.'
>
: y' f' W9 ]+ |> Then he told the following story:
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> 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
9 w1 e5 f  h) }& E4 [> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
; s* Q" u$ R4 F/ T' t> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
; X! `2 a3 J: {! q5 w> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
+ @. j. m6 E; q: R8 P+ Q. T> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
* J( W5 B; C2 `* `; Q5 q> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
8 o, j, n" z/ {- w; r> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
3 ?1 a" i+ l) H& `" |) R> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
> 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
( B) V3 h8 s/ x% \1 V8 K> 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
" b; {5 F/ D4 E. Y& r0 B8 j> 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
> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
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8 n% d. I1 \$ q4 ^; q  i) {> 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
5 G2 U: M  R& a, e> 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
> 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.
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# l. s9 T7 m* f) D/ r8 ~+ ~8 ]9 z> 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.
>
9 D3 I  G% M& x4 e! y: A> 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
1 M- z9 F' R) n1 q7 ~> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
  Z! g! T0 @  Y, A1 B> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> 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
& E. L0 i1 _" O4 V; o& T> 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
3 Q2 \; k* ^3 j2 @8 q; j+ h* k> 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
( `( g( u' b% O7 j3 l0 k! L" D> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
8 ~1 t9 }! l3 X) x* m) Q> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
* d1 C4 i& A7 {' ^/ L> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
$ l$ h6 p& W0 F3 E3 m" E4 `> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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; J# j& y0 q/ `3 `2 V% b/ ]> 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
> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
# N4 \& L' r4 @% z+ ^$ y8 a# E: R> 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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/ @% U2 x. c" z( D% D> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
+ I) l0 I8 C; s. L# X: ]: W> 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!
>
$ V+ s* s/ [, R# @  ~% }> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
9 K5 y' w, Z; Y> 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
6 h, l! {$ C, }% @7 t> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> 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
% C( Y! e: O7 f! I, e> 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
% |, @( U# ?7 f0 q" l2 z> 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?
>
6 C7 ], `# o2 C: N& W) }" [4 B> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
! t' }/ w9 l/ ?0 ?- [> You now have two choices:
/ ?. P5 C# ~# U& S> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.