Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> 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?
>
> 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
> staff, he offered a question:
>
$ \; j: W3 |3 P0 H( o; `> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
: e) F7 E9 {& {9 M& l2 @  A! w> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
6 D! b1 Q4 [* W* v3 T: _> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
& X6 h4 d4 ]4 j6 h& K) e> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
5 d" z6 V) m+ D' E5 N> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
# c$ H! l& l. Z( J: ~# k> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
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> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
& f) O8 X' x% f5 |* y+ Y7 t$ F> 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
0 i3 N, f7 P; c! d2 p3 l9 z# X> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
4 z3 C% W- y  t5 J+ i0 f> 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
2 q% n8 T  l* _' G& P> 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
+ z# {) ^! i7 Q4 o> inning.'
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  [4 k4 m; s, g5 G- J> 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
, A7 W7 @% L1 d% C> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
) G2 P& ?2 h/ ~9 t  ?. `% B& v" k> 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
2 i! \, B' H# P3 v. e> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
0 l& }5 h9 e+ T5 C, l4 B/ b> 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
% w; i& a5 d/ w* _" r4 z> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
! ^3 N/ ~$ y0 a) U4 F" E7 A> 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
9 L$ V! `: ~7 s' ~; Z2 h. w> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
5 X# p- M; L' x- |9 l( G) p> 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. Z/ e5 Q6 l& O" @0 N. `$ k> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
) F7 t4 p+ Y' f0 S" @5 N- v> 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
! M( d6 E# X/ r% z2 b7 I> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
0 I6 ^2 N9 r6 G' {3 `+ r* J> 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,
  ~' D! M8 S' N> wide-eyed and startled.
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" n8 ^/ K& f) \) i0 R- _> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
* m" Z2 V- C  z9 O" x> 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
1 {) ~+ m7 ]1 T* f4 Q> 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
" \9 g, W. h* F, r$ V/ v> circled the bases toward home.
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> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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# ?! [3 l4 {( L" B! w> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
9 e5 M8 W; r& c7 ]/ w- E2 `> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
5 j1 f: i/ O' q# m- P* k# r> Shay, run to third!'
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> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
9 ~2 H# B: b7 q4 P$ |, }> 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.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
5 h% V3 @, I0 Q( b+ N> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
! h) C9 k, C7 A9 I8 r1 Y8 H; ^: @3 X# X> into this world'.
>
2 L! y. H+ D( I$ y; }> 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
' ~" b' k0 W: x3 V, c6 O> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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/ b% y- \( Q6 t6 Y> 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
5 W) D8 o3 o5 C* z, u> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
; b: J1 K' h- p- ]> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
> 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
/ k: [2 c0 ?5 l- |2 Z$ e, ^- ?5 |> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
5 z# o' A0 a3 L/ q! e> 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?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
" v+ r8 C( Y" ?% Y> You now have two choices:
: c, y$ b$ n4 |' |9 l> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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0 e2 y6 K# P3 H' F7 T( @> May your day, be a Shay Day.