Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
! S1 H) ?" @- L1 R/ F5 |! @9 F> 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
2 O6 u3 K9 k9 a* a& F1 f> staff, he offered a question:
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4 l& [) l/ n; Z6 Q5 D/ B; M! P> '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?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> 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:
>
3 R% |7 t( {" X8 y3 [> 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
> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
; Q6 _4 J9 ~. q" @9 f- P> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
9 `  }6 i/ y% _, o> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
+ x, V- l6 e  o' U, X" y> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
% y% N7 t  M3 l! Q> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
& d: b* G- M# b8 u8 F> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
& R# L; q6 B0 I> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
8 R7 K' x+ F" k9 s2 Z>
> 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
> 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
> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
) n5 F' p4 F8 A- ]& p& L! i; E. 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
# w2 `2 a; h# c& s# E( f3 B! W0 `> next at bat.
>
$ V4 q2 T) G% h: C% B' k/ u7 \> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
: @; r2 c7 J( t$ k; |> 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,
+ n; f1 o7 ^5 {# A0 s1 B' f> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
4 G% @  _2 Z' m: b% O> 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
+ h% H. E$ z! ~' q1 P" M1 b! o> 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.
> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
& k8 N; c* R  f, \8 H> right back to the pitcher.
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2 U: S  @1 P5 w% T> 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.
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3 a1 `* E. n0 x> 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
6 T% W0 [3 o2 O, g" G4 v> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
! w7 U" f" [4 G, z, O/ N3 W> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
& p( ~3 q/ V" f1 Z  a> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> 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
' G" T' F6 h5 `( ^$ _6 k> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
8 q+ h5 `+ f9 P" \* U+ i> 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
7 I2 `7 l( f% \$ q8 h- d) V> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
) ~( u: l4 N% D7 P> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
% h! N, e+ |2 e, k9 e> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
* }1 P) q0 C+ X6 f+ Z4 N: i2 e> 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
. D$ e5 o4 t7 m> 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.
>
/ V' N! S  s* ^7 m2 Q> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
# P( o. ?. u* x/ [: u> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
! ~: f8 o" C! O> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
7 A2 |0 F. `5 g) ^> 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
> 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
  h3 O& z8 S8 Y: I6 |* l1 i> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
# A5 ]; P) n8 D0 K6 n6 Y> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
3 P3 r2 f" n7 _" P# p>
; q, ~( X6 C# H  e! y6 T> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
7 q" F2 I6 i6 X) u> 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
! j( H+ D& Z% r! e/ r" V> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
6 a9 J) B: J8 I" I- s> 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.
7 q' i' t. @, X6 h>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
0 [! L6 G7 l/ Y>
' A1 V' G8 ~$ Z8 y6 U. Q: |1 U/ Z3 k2 I> May your day, be a Shay Day.