Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
+ m# Z% ?( I1 c6 ^5 m> 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
' n& q7 a) E9 E  G  d6 }. |> same choice?
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> 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
/ z' p/ I  j  X0 s- B4 C> 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
> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
! y( k5 F( L5 W> The audience was stilled by the query.
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7 u# E9 i# a! [% K$ ?1 X> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
  }6 R5 ]# N7 O% c) J% x> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
+ L5 E% y* P. O8 ]> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
- ?- ?/ ]; b. _& u: S7 L> Then he told the following story:
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' t* u+ \- x% S' C, u' j) |  H> 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
  K9 B8 S9 t; F, w% `  ^> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
! R2 A( J, R" K" H$ ^) S7 J; w> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
9 ~" u2 d# J6 r> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
8 g4 x$ p! _" @> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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" U  y$ m* h) o; i4 y& g' K> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
/ {- l4 _5 g  b> 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
' I( Q/ Y' A2 b- c" X> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
* I8 _- ^+ X: E1 Y6 G> inning.'
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/ Z: h6 S7 a" ^3 X2 Y> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
4 Y% o4 t+ e; o+ {/ Z! @. R% Q> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
3 Q# l' e0 L' l+ 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
: R, T1 _6 i& S: F. _5 ?/ p3 k> 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
> 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
> 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
> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
4 i: |" b/ Y/ @! a% E> 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
1 f! b2 ?  Y5 a/ _8 A, r; c> 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. M& ]9 a! y; n7 g> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
# f& d, E+ j( W* N+ i( E4 E> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
5 g2 C  z: E. R4 p2 N> right back to the pitcher.
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> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
& I' _/ `' L* J! b0 v! b# B> 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.
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; t2 ]# d- h; _/ u0 h" L& N4 v> 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
5 R5 c" v! p& l6 ~( q9 Z> 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,
8 h4 r" H8 n! o5 @! x# ?> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
4 \7 u- m: A/ k8 C1 p/ }# @> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
6 u) {; I6 ^$ ~$ K" x4 l' B2 h  s> 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,
6 H4 Y9 F% V2 l9 f$ j8 Z> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
0 l( \$ y% ~8 X& R% {> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
  B) L) C5 K9 b- z> circled the bases toward home.
>
8 u8 ?; C2 ^- v$ U> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
) d! s* S1 Y2 d$ I> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
# }3 k: }' x/ n& ?" p: P- v> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
+ b) \( l- f/ K> 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,
> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
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7 {( \1 d$ {5 V1 `4 z# N> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
- _. z% \1 I; z, J$ A: s1 V5 f> 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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1 ]/ f2 X( o2 q/ X! D9 M> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
- p% T  ]3 ~; [8 ]> 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
; M+ i2 u! a0 z& a8 R> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
9 h5 H1 X5 v: P: L> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
5 S$ D1 S# O1 x; W/ R>
> 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
, |( h, J4 i6 J0 ?* Z0 C5 K> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
) Q+ g1 }- n2 [, m8 b' _, q$ |* |> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
" K2 t$ k( u+ o. N  V> 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
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
, p9 V" U# X- U( e6 \> 1. Delete
$ |8 |9 ]$ {- e, A% z9 b# F  T> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.