Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> 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
1 l' y. G; _1 o> 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:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
. M* c9 H( M* i! ^, z0 v( \! h> 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?'
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> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
( t; c. c! H* g5 _3 u' E# n> 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
% o9 A( @3 N( z& V> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
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, C5 S# @. k" x, P1 F: L> 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
2 t; V9 U0 }. c> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
/ Z( F5 e4 O3 D+ e: N> 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.
>
> 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
$ a  ?8 e' `9 O/ i3 }4 i( Q- n% m> 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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> 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
, F7 b7 V! F; M# w% ~, K2 ]* ]> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
+ [3 v6 q2 }3 k2 N> 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
4 n1 F+ m. @& J1 m* c> 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
> 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
$ b; r% [6 |" h+ P. ]7 Y- ?> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
8 j9 R" O' J+ B0 u> 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
9 w: e2 _7 s8 M1 F% O* R> 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.
7 W: W  \( n/ ?7 n3 `( |3 ?' M7 x3 D> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
, V. N, \6 M- M9 u, X, X> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
% \/ w* ~& Y+ ~1 B" k4 s> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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> 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
; q$ O' d% E. a4 s# p& w) @> 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,
2 I6 J5 M2 \; q! \> wide-eyed and startled.
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6 R- F  h- C7 M> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
7 R3 r; D9 m: w  {> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
3 i; T4 S( }$ \- _4 O. d0 ?- c> 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
" E2 e# \3 x5 O# ]9 o1 N: u> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
7 w3 I$ y, e/ }) l/ D4 P1 ^9 z1 Q> 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. o2 J3 J8 E; p> circled the bases toward home.
>
! q% i( G: A) M! c% J# Q$ {- p# G> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
: e. {& [# j$ w6 f5 d) ]5 i! o> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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* p9 s" n5 H4 T> 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
> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
! g7 L6 q9 l/ v2 U4 f9 W> '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
3 y. F# ^3 t8 E( e> 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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7 \% x) ?6 A9 g> 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
, C- K: w* |. C- z# B> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
> 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
1 m4 q% \5 z6 J+ U> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
# ^+ X: {7 C4 @$ s> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
9 w; U0 F: g  ~! r' L/ y& O> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
! @, r* f1 A; E0 T. p8 ?> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
. o& B$ n; N( A8 s8 b1 `$ ^> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
  ?% O: N* L) w& }' U$ r> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
0 M  _. n- |  g9 k& l> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
" B: p9 t* r" ?& A! [0 f5 J4 s> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.