Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
" d( j6 a% P5 ^1 V: H& }> 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?
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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
8 q3 s5 M  Y$ v5 a> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
! [7 B  @. U( C) q* |) K> staff, he offered a question:
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4 i3 h2 Z2 r  D$ ~( Z> '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?'
>
" s7 q" R$ R# P: l> The audience was stilled by the query.
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> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
+ n7 r" v% I" P0 @9 t9 E4 ^8 _> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> 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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% Y. H4 K3 d& F% e- i, t> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
0 ^2 y  C; K, 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
. V: _# |5 p7 A7 P4 h* m9 }: D> 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
! Y$ j- c) r4 k! t/ R> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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1 X' k* z- t3 {9 @( ?* O0 F> 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
> 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
# S0 K$ v! E: i# h> inning.'
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; u: ?7 j1 n9 x, g> 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
! ~; f* ^( I+ U' R> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
2 |# e4 O# ?5 V4 [> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
) M0 d+ \- K* B, T; i& o> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
0 X+ N# y4 Y8 V+ d> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
9 r. b- Z& h6 [1 a5 I; \  \> 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
1 U8 z- J  o6 H, h4 t1 a6 E> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
- m7 N9 b0 |) `" {/ F> next at bat.
>
: v) X% q* \1 I" Y5 B> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
' u# R9 _, b9 _0 C# l$ W/ ^> 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.
! p7 I" _1 s% E: _9 O4 n> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
9 r6 @1 t: j( m4 @$ c0 D9 O7 V) d> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
& \8 m3 j* p" K. i4 H> 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.
; J& @  Q' ~  L3 A+ q> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
9 q4 l4 z$ ~+ r' u% z% `( A> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
! h4 i1 b$ @; }> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
- x) j9 R  }( ?4 U. U- T9 m: H> 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
/ v, p3 V" l3 k$ h+ O4 t8 R> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
0 y7 v) E3 }% ]7 D' T! O> 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 u7 W' [1 p! v0 p/ \. C> wide-eyed and startled.
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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
2 h/ Q; a' Y1 G- S% I5 l- U> 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
8 |4 |6 S* Z' ~+ f  I' b: Y> 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
) A8 x  a! q8 r* i  z> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
+ i' f+ B6 c9 L2 o/ W& v, g: T> 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
$ B) p+ a( ^. R- h/ L8 K> circled the bases toward home.
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> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
7 i6 s7 ^' n; K( R> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
; _1 S' ?6 \4 R" @6 z  d* C" P: m> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
> 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
# L- l) C" Z2 X5 r2 B* i> game for his team.
>
. _' S& z5 n% d  e0 m> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
, c8 S. e$ t) k( A: W4 j* a2 S( x6 E' C> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
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> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
; u3 ^4 h0 D2 O" C> 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
, {6 m$ {5 T- {% r: o4 N& i4 _> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
  g. y; |- {& D, {  D> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
: I/ e2 s4 J, ^# h5 W> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
- g4 q2 |! o4 U% u# p> 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
1 V# s7 M1 x& m. ?4 R> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
9 G% Q2 J0 e7 U; N6 h: b> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
; ^5 d' _1 u( C- l> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
0 b/ X; I( m2 C$ ~> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
) N9 G) h  O  `% I2 m* o> bit colder in the process?
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7 v* j6 C5 V! n/ Y# L8 \# s> 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:
+ a8 F: e$ Y5 q+ u/ z2 p3 p! r8 t> 1. Delete
1 \- r1 d  Y4 _> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.