Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
) G3 w0 z1 B" S5 Z- z> 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?
, s5 q0 r1 Y, a0 e+ G>
& ~. \) F6 }/ F! q5 [> 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
9 a; E8 C/ K. _9 l9 c! u. O1 L& b> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
7 w  K6 `7 W& a6 s>
> '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?'
>
9 Q* i0 J9 M# z6 k% ~> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
/ ]# S, W: T& I) f' q> 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
; y/ W0 M& V) q/ @' @: Y> treat that child.'
>
8 Y% w4 J" O: T1 y3 C' V" |& V> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
6 h, Z" A& f( e: r! ]  f1 f# F3 B$ t> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
1 d3 H: Z; D# M& Y6 y( x0 B> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
) c7 {, t9 y# z1 s, K> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
6 l; Y4 U' |* k6 l/ @6 o5 O> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
% C) V& Q4 s/ c' a# d$ ?>
0 o% \  \0 u( Z. h> 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
  W# M1 _8 k" j: {) x% q; h> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
6 W# {8 D- F# t- b5 u) ]>
6 Z  F. U! P% h& f> 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
) ~; d- M' V1 K# p> 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
  v/ B: ?6 |* U" l> 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
9 ?) l% P) ^: \> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
  {3 }# N: L6 B6 \' b  @: u' l> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
6 [/ G, C3 r8 X# k: f4 t- f4 d> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
' a# k3 w. r2 o5 l> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
$ U8 k' Y" [% i3 v% F- w0 Z>
8 S- Z# f! K7 ]1 ]> 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
% h3 d& C' B6 E> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
- p# `! }& {( i4 @* @4 P5 o' ~* T> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
* D0 P4 F/ y) J  b1 D) e/ o% z3 t> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
9 u2 @4 G/ e6 O& z> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
5 R' C3 n/ F1 r3 D> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
& m, [2 C, E1 l& @5 n: b; b# _> 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.
>
5 Q% l  |& J) R% i, _. W. y: s# |> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
3 a6 m( G2 s% i& {" a& }2 D> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
% C5 U- }" ^7 r: ?6 E" f> out and that would have been the end of the game.
* K5 A: a3 ?4 T- B>
> 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
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
! N5 J4 E0 v* @>
/ j. h  R7 E/ c, @6 Y2 E& r> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
" b7 m: g4 N" e" Y4 D: @: B> 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
, _  U* U7 o, y1 ~7 K8 _+ C> 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,
. I/ F, U6 D' l2 Q" Z  U' a> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
) s- d. h- h! J2 g4 d2 ]9 H> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
6 Y& G3 T( _3 ^5 A* t" m  @) l> circled the bases toward home.
>
7 ?5 d& a1 Z- x) ^1 K6 Y" R> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
6 O7 q$ F: k5 j9 C( u+ t, Z> 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
> 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
; D! i8 d- f  v+ X> game for his team.
>
/ g" e5 D8 i' Y( \- M> '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'.
>
> 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!
>
> 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
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
" d% O1 s( d2 N/ f& M! a> 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
5 [- ~1 [$ j! C; c> 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
6 C6 |3 _: R! L7 y* a> 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
( \% l0 r' v# i# F( F  h/ P# I4 a5 L> bit colder in the process?
/ |7 H7 w$ z6 O6 c4 _>
0 ^2 @% U1 G6 G> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
4 H. s6 a8 S+ d  q' Z  s5 r>
/ w" a% R4 w+ O+ v/ [> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
4 J0 \$ w5 _( I  h7 n> 2. Forward
! \: x5 I  t# Y7 [>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.