Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
3 }! Q% f# F' u# L0 A> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
7 X' w9 y: t" ]% }, L+ e5 N> same choice?
>
# H% e2 l/ D: K' R( T. G% w> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
( \! E. V0 A0 f1 [% W- B> 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
5 d8 L+ Z# l* t. R: A) g% {" N> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
8 J5 k* l& J' D  W> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
* ^$ P7 y8 j  G6 f4 f' j; p> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
! q# c7 Y" c, t+ K- ]> natural order of things in my son?'
2 F! ?+ X- d, X. {  o4 A9 D0 X>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
% h, k# i  ~8 S; }> 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
& n% _( T8 o' W. D7 @% o' S> treat that child.'
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- O! P) N3 r8 W; h6 |> Then he told the following story:
>
, w9 a+ _& {, |2 v5 E& E7 J> 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
7 @! ]" o0 Y' M/ A) ~7 r> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
, Q% M5 e5 E" N3 t' w- M$ v> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
6 Y" j; H5 D5 I8 s6 l> 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
, {  N5 g8 ~/ o0 A> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
; t$ ^% [4 @( p* l3 v> 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
. M5 c( m* H& j* f0 d5 ?> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
! l& H: N. l% {' ^, o$ C> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
  S+ s; W5 i& K! o) R% b> 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
: b0 e2 o! ^/ ]- D- y+ D> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
/ |; t, z, `2 R" 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
# Y: m; d4 i" W: a  L  Z- z> next at bat.
>
> 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
> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
3 d1 s% J: {) f1 E3 n5 R> 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
8 g7 Y! Y, `. V6 V9 R: g+ S  R2 |> 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.
>
> 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
( y- i# Y( q$ C> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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. N/ ^- R  ]+ T6 x8 M> 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,
7 ?5 P7 x5 d) R( B> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
> 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
0 P1 }- v3 E" N7 \  C. ]9 U# t> 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
> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
5 \8 w( W  s4 g( _. ~8 n" J" \1 H* ^> circled the bases toward home.
5 f% m& D, p# ^; S; g0 ^) e* w) U>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
7 v/ W7 j3 Q8 R* d: n>
3 v5 K. M' C* r" E7 }* [! b6 t( `  q$ N$ J> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
7 ?. [! U5 Z/ ], u# c> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
6 c% v6 Y6 L: @. V> Shay, run to third!'
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3 b4 F6 m* ^" j5 U4 r2 p> 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,
$ b  k5 d) l9 c9 O> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
9 n) u0 P5 L9 x; w>
> 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
8 V' K) H. y3 _1 ^, {" B7 b> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
# F/ Z' t9 l" D  u> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
" v0 E$ O) l% }' M> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
# ~/ G+ {/ Z1 U# H8 N* Z7 g> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
+ o7 Y, o1 q! F4 `9 Q- x2 ~2 x4 H> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
9 c) ]$ k; ~7 w$ o' o. H- |, L; E>
> 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
& m8 a0 T4 ]( H+ y> 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
" ]) \3 K; `! P* a5 T! J( C> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
>
! a% M( A; |9 V! X> A wise man once said every society is judged by
5 n6 M0 ^( E7 G5 {* e> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
/ Z9 N' d( }$ _* F5 g# @> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
8 q8 p  k1 z, o6 U3 V. J> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.