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 C4 ]7 N; \& ?$ m6 J) ^> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
# D* P) J9 s7 {> 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
  h7 {# v8 J9 g0 ~9 [> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
7 P2 _( P% ?% c/ K8 b; b> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
& q, y! ]; _- i& k" p( L> 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
8 w/ J1 i- M3 R* J+ x> natural order of things in my son?'
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> The audience was stilled by the query.
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  T; C4 p9 q( C6 Z> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
1 k# j* _3 Z. ^7 _" b! B/ R> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
$ n" u! b- X9 H> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
/ ~) h/ B5 a) \& I) d3 O> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
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& Y8 P' Z8 S5 Y* ^& g> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
" ]- i& A4 u0 y5 @> 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
* q$ K. Y9 K9 ~' g. K) u> 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
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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3 Y; B* b  D, Z, G- \; `> 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 L, x6 L9 Q' y7 p3 s> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
5 I( S6 w, C2 _7 y> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
4 N. \2 p8 v/ I  j> 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
1 X# x( x3 ^  t' s$ f& Q> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
+ b- v- g" e- E> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
> 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
! a: z4 T8 O  F' P> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
4 {7 i; e0 }3 i9 ]+ y! ]( Z  s( p4 J7 P' Z> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
6 a6 {% l' T$ d" s* b% W+ A+ d8 T5 L> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
8 r& @# w& c0 W! e& B( r> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
$ ^: H' o0 `  @& U6 i) t> 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 q; I9 J( w  M9 n3 @2 q> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
3 n, r" [% |" t5 o> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
0 C' E& j  n+ {2 q' E5 F- |. N/ d' `3 I> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
& f+ j) [0 `, f  d& U> 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.
% r/ q( d$ J7 M8 N; {$ O$ ?> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
/ G% x9 N) n/ f> 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
& c% t( t7 [# m& c" E  t> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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) e3 a4 ~. G, r8 q% u> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
7 ?, q: U: J* b! g7 }> 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,
' B" ~) A6 F% l6 m* b4 s8 }9 I> wide-eyed and startled.
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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
1 X) X  ~; h; A0 R, f8 v1 J3 g! W> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
7 ^; z6 m* h0 ]$ Y" e" {  m; J> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
2 \) }+ }4 A! @$ a0 R% M3 ~> 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,
> 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
% \: i/ m$ A. V- L" A3 ~) m2 o' E> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
+ W. z! p- J/ L> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
0 W  E, Q& A0 W$ |2 s9 g> Shay, run to third!'
>
8 I; }! p8 |3 {> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
5 j. @$ Z- j" ]: ~$ k1 F> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
0 J" Y- K8 f  ?+ P/ U7 L1 E> 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,
! f4 q! [! i" \> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
. O, a1 `; \9 B$ X2 e# X/ j9 L> into this world'.
>
' A% M! K% w& D$ c, [! t' X> 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!
>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
9 A! g0 j; Y1 r* q> 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
! `+ \% @! I5 A: c> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
; B- s+ B) g! ^9 q9 d> 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
% `' Q- O' R' {, `# X+ n3 l> '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
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
0 I6 W% J, B6 h/ ~' C3 C> 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
* y9 x9 x5 K$ a7 Q5 H; Y1 B> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
>
  r2 n0 r$ d) A: N1 n2 r. P> 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:
" P1 t, D- U: g% f# r# W> 1. Delete
% A# k: A1 J. j> 2. Forward
>
: ]5 C, ~+ P# o& b2 y> May your day, be a Shay Day.