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
; y. H2 y: O3 m3 U& J  O9 K> same choice?
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0 _4 G7 m' L# K5 c5 D) O  ~> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
: ~4 n& s0 a! U> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
* M' L5 |' e$ a> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
. ~7 K. A  k; H7 X6 V> staff, he offered a question:
>
; W* e+ [, x' A. g% x* m> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
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> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
  h* k0 q) l4 j7 [1 B0 R> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
7 q7 X$ r7 g. y. a& V: s> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
4 {! T  Q4 n- z6 s7 J# L. z' M> treat that child.'
3 Y1 G9 a- a5 m) s' d>
+ T9 R! \  Z+ i4 a> Then he told the following story:
>
9 m2 F! K# _, B6 D  E2 l> 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
5 Y3 @  p' k) C& u. a. a0 U> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
3 b4 w- N; A# M> 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
& Y# ~+ r/ s7 k1 M/ q> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
7 E/ P2 {1 D; J8 S' t> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
9 Q( v( W; L* }/ j! z1 Z% c. `> 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
) t+ Y! y1 S. i& I% J> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
) T7 _5 x% l% y8 ^> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
/ m: ]3 f# a/ O. o: p> 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
/ A( ~! a9 T4 @, P> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
% P' W; B1 {) _6 J> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
3 [2 D5 s3 O. S* n% d> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
) i: K* c) ~4 M' e6 d  E. C1 \> next at bat.
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> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
( t3 q' Q3 t4 e9 p> 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.
> 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
( V# i& I- W3 S' Q" T8 n( i. e> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
" I( R* {- L3 {5 r0 ^/ R* K+ W* t$ J# M> 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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> 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
& b0 c: f( U8 c, I8 t7 o2 e> 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
" D* g0 _- O$ E4 J2 C- p) Y> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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, _& z5 v9 W0 G" R$ R6 A  D9 ~> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
. b+ {0 e- p- w2 F& \9 J+ W> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
3 G( G) u- f3 g$ r  k> 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
> 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
) V9 F- Z: z( A> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
" S- L7 n/ L; c3 J" H/ v0 n> circled the bases toward home.
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; U$ @& I7 J) w$ _# R* [, D> 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
> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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2 d9 e; S7 A# ~: k( a) A> 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
4 H$ }6 W( G  h' n2 v> game for his team.
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% ?) D9 ~6 e5 i  _* N8 W, V7 l> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
: O! _% s, i4 @/ H> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
  m" ~9 z/ _7 {5 q% c" V, I> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
: y4 {; I" O+ 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!
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> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
; r9 C2 A" v$ ?8 f> 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
( V; x1 d( L+ f; e0 Y> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
/ L. o$ w$ ]+ Z4 X> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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2 v, J# Q5 q" ~& w/ d! `8 e> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
# Z7 t- K( f* \> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
5 R& A  g: T% W# L: y> '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
/ r% X& _3 j) r" P; G3 A> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
# @. o7 M, ]- i5 q> 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?
>
9 A' k. \( M1 q, g, q* j, M> A wise man once said every society is judged by
+ B$ z" R) [7 Q+ \- c9 T1 a> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
2 i2 H4 d- {: \8 d2 p4 a> 1. Delete
0 q% j4 {. ?% b+ |* W: I" \> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.