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
> same choice?
>
: O4 u* d1 j& |+ i+ v> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
+ F+ P8 b. s* g7 M> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
+ e+ |6 P' Y- a* n> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
; j" D% k; i. c# a5 u5 a> 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.
' f, O& {4 g+ l( {>
. V: x) o/ A/ o7 @1 x> 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.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
6 a' `& ^) q9 ?* ~8 H2 g! a6 c4 B9 G> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
& Z! Z2 n" A& z5 L/ Z> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
8 K! s& M; |9 c3 [0 n# }# d8 b> 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,
4 s8 q& l: U3 E. g8 ]> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
; _4 C# T% H4 n3 G4 O> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
* t# Z  p! R, O8 U0 k! M# `>
> 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
2 C$ [7 R8 N9 {. S6 E( s) ^' q) R! ~7 m> inning.'
/ C3 }# @$ T2 g& q, v( ?% }>
> 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
  D; _1 [8 B. b0 O> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
' C7 ^9 O8 n: m" w# ^1 a> 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
5 `, z% z! R( I5 E> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
" n  z# Z5 V" i! U> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
; B8 d$ D* Q) i" e) n> next at bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
, n+ i; K. B! F! u% l# 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,
> much less connect with the ball.
" ]3 t- p; G! ^6 m# F0 [" ~/ U6 b> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
) U* ?/ h6 X0 @2 {% x, J+ i& I> 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
* S2 X! E4 N; i> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
! Q* P( S$ `$ w8 X9 x( r> 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.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
6 D. n5 m! D$ L> 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.
>
> 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
! E) V0 m( `2 K( t. z+ z> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
% z5 N/ }# R# n> wide-eyed and startled.
>
  d, A5 J1 k& [& r1 J> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
& c, `8 @3 m% C9 |; D8 F> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
; X4 g# ]' p% X0 c; D> 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
# a7 G8 m7 l8 r5 l; k> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
% ?/ K- V8 ]5 S9 B  Y$ _& b> 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
' t* w& v8 N1 U0 F7 o> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
* J* q9 v( F, ?# ]. |1 j4 I% D% b> circled the bases toward home.
) u: L  \, g  e5 }+ ?6 ^( U8 q, P>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
7 C( F8 w/ ?. P8 G; v5 Z3 W1 E: w>
9 q7 r/ Q5 n  S9 ?- @> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
/ T/ s" X& ^0 W; P, q> Shay, run to third!'
! K0 n) k/ N- g, n: Z% ~5 E+ M>
& `% ?" t! k. r3 ~2 o> 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
, J+ T0 F, f3 \4 R7 ~# k6 `> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
0 T3 E" W! L& _> game for his team.
! e7 j7 m2 ^$ C8 w4 |9 K>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
$ Q$ i; |) h4 v. `> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
% i" x5 R+ ^+ ~* Y" Q, M> into this world'.
1 _( t% Y- `6 \1 w>
> 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!
, {$ A( H, q% @; M>
- w  ~9 J( C& W0 U1 ?7 ]> 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
6 }+ n6 p8 H8 w' v: _6 `3 t) E> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
' R0 P1 w; b) r& l  u3 _6 u) O> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
; i; l$ p' R  a% X; l>
* |# u& F- S' C% G$ R  @; N2 o+ j> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
1 R4 ~, C9 Z2 |2 Q6 R. g5 O- v> 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
: ^4 |7 B% |) M$ l# a6 T6 V> 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
> 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
1 C& f6 Z5 Z/ p6 E& a: e9 @1 m/ h> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
: }5 n( a- W0 _>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
  [1 V' e! X" E" d% Q1 ~> May your day, be a Shay Day.