Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
6 D: D# d; S5 g> 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?
0 @7 O6 O; n" F' ~2 Y>
. E# I& H, C, |2 z> 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
3 S* H( [. _# T! f> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
9 e+ u" V3 A0 L4 Z6 O' F> staff, he offered a question:
# N+ |" e0 J: p- c/ T! h>
3 [5 l9 k2 m2 o2 w> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
8 z; P) y7 @) _, u/ L) n> 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
/ O5 \. ]' ^1 q> 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.'
>
5 e' @7 G/ X8 k8 C2 X> Then he told the following story:
>
* Z7 G& `& }) @* h' h7 r. g> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
' A4 `3 X9 z) q; R: l$ m> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
2 [8 d% Q1 @  q* m/ c> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
7 u% T$ f" r% x1 a# ^" [> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
  _* f" S# a( x6 W) e* m> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
; L6 d9 {9 f* _> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
6 x3 c% r. E, S5 P> 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
% f3 r* ^: L, V. H' h* `$ j> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
  b# Y6 O+ G9 \>
! C% r; x0 P( V) S> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
+ I+ n7 }. i- p) f/ t> 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
# x( B0 P# p0 H> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
  J- T& n& x  H# v  Y$ E> 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
: H, [2 u* @% `7 M7 ^  v. v> 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
! {! v/ k9 C8 O. v4 y4 y3 E8 t3 c4 I> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
: n: J, t" e3 _/ B" o> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
& @! `! a: X! U" e$ d8 x> 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.
> 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
$ k" l% K. Z8 t2 m> 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
> right back to the pitcher.
( U! t% F, B' m: t4 A( q>
9 g: e& \% o6 L/ Q; a. d> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
6 E- Y. o1 x+ q* P  \$ j7 \> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
2 a$ J4 p$ J* J& `& I- I/ N  J' O0 |> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
7 b, v7 @. W- I& A> 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
> 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,
> wide-eyed and startled.
8 {5 _5 A; _* x. N) b, v>
1 {* i" w& q2 }0 N* t2 {1 \> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
+ g" }4 h* s9 n. }/ D> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
" q3 D# l% K% b& B4 e> 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
3 P  b. T- W# z: i0 d, K( }2 C> 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
' f" G) J! F) ^4 F! r2 R% s* g> circled the bases toward home.
, d, i6 B# g2 Q>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
1 j# e5 U5 |1 V: j! O8 h) t; y>
. @9 |! n& B9 Z# Q9 N1 {> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
6 h1 F( n7 c$ t6 _" ^: f0 M2 k> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
4 S( U" e6 E* \) M0 I' Z> Shay, run to third!'
>
6 x# o. I, v  M& A: a> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
8 D* X8 h6 [# I( w+ X2 k> 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.
>
1 I5 E( }1 T: Y* R> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
& N7 I- y+ l  Z1 w/ Q' z* Q- e> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
# Z+ q$ I5 M" B# F( M> into this world'.
>
) }7 M/ ]1 }6 I) y4 S> 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!
>
9 b/ f& k5 V0 S! F) }6 }) A> 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
) k! ^  W! y$ Q% Y! y. w/ M> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
* ]' k4 j: b5 S+ l2 H' H, [8 l- C> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
$ T7 r9 N+ I6 [+ K# r. X1 ^>
2 W/ Y- |3 j, k. m  g! L& L> 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
6 ~2 Y& G2 O/ |+ J) z2 t> '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
" }% F' D5 D$ o% n- Q8 Z> 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?
+ t( p; B/ z, }" {>
8 q. [0 `, Z% b$ E> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> 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.