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
> same choice?
1 z, Y3 ?+ A% R. e% l" G>
> 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
; b% M  X) ^6 D- e0 x% Z6 s> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
0 J' a- j0 C- ^* R; Y> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
& z  c0 r0 D. y4 }& ?6 I* K> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
8 W. _/ A8 C' F2 o% }" k> natural order of things in my son?'
) V5 w" [1 U6 o4 E>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
8 ?; z; N: W! T! A5 g>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
, y' `; {1 [* s3 Q2 Q, n+ |> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
4 p% ^* ^" y( y6 F* a; _> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
7 r4 M# b! S% d. k, u$ W& e) \4 b* _> treat that child.'
>
$ @  I# P) N. z) ?/ w1 A> Then he told the following story:
  p" E1 V6 e' t2 d>
9 I: B/ K. [( v( {) |* _> 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
+ \7 h: ?; n. y/ Y! L> 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,
' Q, _& ]5 @- _; l> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
7 ^& ?) E6 u( ^8 }> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
; B) C1 I( `0 c>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
* ~, I# d, t. f% e> 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
1 Z5 |0 I9 [" M; H0 m( f) \/ _, [> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
' L2 o7 R. b! E; v* z0 m+ n> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
  Q3 z2 _- ^$ y2 w6 |+ o$ z> 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
) v4 V9 b2 E3 w# q' L% t> 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
> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
! X/ n) E6 N" f> 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
/ T, n' z- z% @# G$ U1 j7 h> next at bat.
% U7 `3 w, R/ f+ F) c( M4 V9 b>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
- [/ c0 H* }4 y) G" x7 v1 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,
; x9 G, P3 `! [+ a$ U> much less connect with the ball.
8 D! H  W1 f! E3 t+ x+ S! s& U> 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
2 {, T( n: ?6 |$ Z- h> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
! S2 j" B1 O2 l9 q0 g( ?> 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.
4 ^+ x" P. M! G. x( M' d> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
% g: F- ]' o' }/ @2 W>
> 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.
( K0 R8 q# T$ G* ?>
) b/ e. 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
% w9 r8 V: P# n0 g  ^8 y5 ^( J> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
8 {8 j& n' g8 b* o> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
5 _/ x7 ]/ C. g/ J% O) i> wide-eyed and startled.
>
( ?& a& i7 E9 s& G> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
1 c. f9 p( j& W+ H! Q) L> 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,
. D, R8 O9 U) s; D+ J> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
3 \9 C7 x* {, |, j/ s+ _> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
> 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!
> Shay, run to third!'
0 [- k$ J9 f% {: _8 R>
" w: ]* g2 r) U( t4 ?> 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
$ t: [2 Q/ ~( ^7 B$ P7 T> game for his team.
>
- |$ Y/ M5 Q9 B5 N4 n3 H  m9 k> '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
9 b& w% G* H) o8 P' h4 j# o> 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
% p0 B3 ^& A3 z) k% D/ u> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
0 g( X6 Q7 A- X, w2 [3 Z3 a, T7 N, m> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
4 b- {3 m2 }; O- g> 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
2 I/ |) C- r5 U  \1 N; p> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
) C1 f0 h& u2 N9 i* w2 j9 P> 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?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
2 W% e6 Z7 h& N% I- d> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
0 V8 X/ m4 m6 K) l> 1. Delete
8 D; W) [- a0 N8 u7 K> 2. Forward
9 r" v  [, U4 o+ N>
' [% k. Y9 S# V. K> May your day, be a Shay Day.