Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
6 k" u8 ^/ d" |$ F0 I  M4 H' |> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
8 `: G5 W+ _0 S6 T5 E/ s2 h> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
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4 q3 |" D" X- A3 M, o& I& }! Y> 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:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
# L# U5 c4 V* {% z* h) S& ?& ^4 l> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
7 O+ B6 K" m; [' H9 t% C) S. |8 w>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
- ^* u* n9 k' Z* f4 H. Z; @3 |> 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
; d% G9 U, b8 y5 A> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
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, A3 g) l5 L# I7 Q7 q& X> 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
6 v; e4 H( D6 p  e9 n> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
! z8 O( w( c" g4 Z$ Q/ n  Y> 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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> 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
> 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
, m) J8 r: K! u  {* V; ?: s> 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
- N/ R4 t; `$ E$ c> 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
> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
0 S6 z6 A# _% d- o0 E" q" t> 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
% ]# F7 z$ `) j9 K1 I+ V* \> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
2 h# s; d& k: ]. C6 z> 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
; J' q5 ]) _5 V8 E7 w# J2 f> next at bat.
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> 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
' l/ L" H/ R2 W. {) u" D/ p> 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
2 q2 z& o4 i% G> 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
6 T, Y+ I: E' G7 p> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
+ o, Q3 Y. e& [  v> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
) Z* y4 i! O, F7 n/ F> 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
9 d5 t5 ~* |7 g> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
+ T1 _4 V# e8 I8 x9 A, f> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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7 c# B2 B! q9 d/ a/ N> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
# o! f3 {) M" z8 e8 j. R* X4 r> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
9 _. v& E8 }0 r# z  r  p; o> 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,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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5 M% [: f( k2 y3 R2 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
* O( }! Y$ x' c& W3 c: 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
> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
( c9 V! M% R; s5 k; j% j> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
6 x* F4 z0 J* m) t> 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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# {# U, }  N- u. p1 ?3 S0 h> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> 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!
* |: B7 a/ u$ J  X' \. J# s> Shay, run to third!'
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> 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
> game for his team.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
  U5 l' i! y3 V5 ~+ w> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
. s- W' ?, C; b% E7 Q2 ~# D> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
* |# W2 b% _2 V> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
& ]5 z/ p1 c) b1 Z) g> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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' }& ]  q( M0 q# ?+ a: E& k4 H> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
* \  V. O( d& S# z! r> 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
" D3 |. v1 X! h  j2 b( `. m; i> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
( W5 ?1 u9 T7 G% H/ I# X> 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
> 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( L1 t( y* A. {" N7 U> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
/ c+ L3 w! `% Q  q5 b/ o# `& J+ |> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
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+ n: a+ o9 t0 {6 S> A wise man once said every society is judged by
% h2 l  q) ~/ _$ x% A# ~: L5 U- z> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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  ?$ F* W8 x$ ?) Q& i5 p/ z> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
, I# W. x, r! W> 2. Forward
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/ l0 y) Q( u( n/ I" Q# R" J/ G5 W> May your day, be a Shay Day.