Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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4 k0 V- o. B9 q+ [> 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
$ L# o( ?1 g3 l( C! o) _9 p; C> 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:
>
1 |: u  S" L* C9 Q% G0 w# A: o> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
3 U- N5 _3 s& d: L9 W, J> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
! m  q: _' v. ?5 s5 z> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
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' E' A. i; j7 m# Q5 U6 }2 @> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
8 K; C  e( [: V0 I, [5 W0 ?> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
- s8 J# ^1 Q& }4 ^6 D% M0 A8 }> treat that child.'
>
7 P: y' @8 L1 a% o7 Y> Then he told the following story:
>
+ P! U) s5 w) S2 P8 c1 |> 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
& e+ t! e5 M* c1 ^! |! I" c> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
! X/ }* v) }# q; S" N6 ?> 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
( `' @6 y, r7 y- A, ~> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
) f/ S% P2 \" ?( K6 l1 i3 [8 J> 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
> inning.'
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+ L' m& l* O8 C* v3 O! ]9 |> 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
> 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
  m7 {# X' D6 P# T/ {$ a1 [> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
) f6 T( j: g- m! J8 p> 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
# r4 T8 ?; \: P6 p3 ]) |> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
/ s. m: Q5 V& n4 c# {> 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.
>
> 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,
> much less connect with the ball.
+ B$ Y* x, `- S/ ~3 F> 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
! h- i! x+ G1 r, _2 l1 ^> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
4 \2 j, `/ x* i2 z0 Y+ y> 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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) [' \0 s# t7 s; M5 ~& I/ H4 l2 L> 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
8 s5 }2 a+ T+ B* u8 j# N4 [> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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5 H7 p4 T5 w! G& q5 T! U> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
4 y3 ^" h# f* J& ]  K+ a# e( t> 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
. L7 V- E7 N: u5 t0 S: e> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
, x- `9 s. Z. L3 ?8 _$ g8 l& a8 b> wide-eyed and startled.
>
+ {7 V' i* w  T0 p& |/ y) K9 e> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
9 J$ q3 g3 P! D5 t0 `> 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
; @  j% D6 s2 s" y/ S' C9 W> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
# t3 R- x) z+ Z- k; M- h6 A> 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
> circled the bases toward home.
>
7 d" q+ x$ s2 M2 [+ s/ O- ~> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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  m$ H9 q' |1 A- J% u" K" ~> 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!
( D! b+ `) a- E4 K4 U/ Y> Shay, run to third!'
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> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
) X3 ]: M8 f. v4 m% r> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
5 a; R% s$ s* D: Z8 ~" G, y> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
2 l# M, B- x6 f) u0 M: v> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
- ]8 M/ P  F' {> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
5 B2 k, n: P: S/ i: w) J> 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!
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> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
( m; A, z1 b& c1 b) N> 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
- @. R6 i' h  N' ~> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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7 |4 U' f5 a8 L0 _, h- N> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
: L% d" o. @  r! b! i9 ]> 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
7 Z, [9 Q7 {: \# b! p/ I0 z4 K. S> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
. \( T% k% {3 {; o3 P, j> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
1 s0 L6 A5 q$ M> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
/ \) D% ^- X- U* a' h4 ^> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
  I) J7 e7 `- v  I# V) W2 u0 S> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.