Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
4 n7 O0 W  f* C* S> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
% C. v7 i; ^5 G' z! ]# _> same choice?
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> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
( u( X+ C! P/ U" Z4 k> 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
0 s! R  D( o' W6 c9 Q& ?9 a> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
0 f" @3 v# u5 F, P' d; ^> 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.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
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> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
* E4 X" k: d' B0 H* @> 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,
> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
1 ~1 K/ I+ X! O: N. i( D> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
4 ^. t# W& D+ o3 w> 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
> inning.'
>
( b- c" Z3 F. U" v/ O& ^> 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
! _+ M# r( D' P: p8 D/ A> 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
. w- }7 W- T* C; y( d+ D% o> 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 m+ A  h# g* M  t; j+ I# S> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
/ A% |, t  t4 |( N> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
8 z7 f7 T; A% s0 ]+ L1 M: Q9 ?$ r> 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
! ^. V0 r8 ?/ M0 H+ s7 P3 ]> 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
' V1 R- V% P3 ~& g( [; _> 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
2 L) T2 E' ?7 G/ P! {1 {> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
5 Y1 E% j0 T5 [, {> 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
- c' w8 T, r; g9 ?5 T> right back to the pitcher.
>
> 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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6 Q+ ^* }' T( h6 S2 Q7 N> 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,
) c6 ?4 P5 m2 f1 W# i9 O+ d> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
3 x: F& c' G; i0 Z: c, l> 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
> 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
' h; s- ?9 [9 C+ M0 _> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
4 j7 [8 k2 h' [! N% Z! U9 ]> circled the bases toward home.
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$ o8 }6 S6 Z8 e" \( H# N> 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
: D' Z! U/ ~% L) u> 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
> 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,
> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
+ ?6 `# `% h' X- ]( K) i> into this world'.
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> 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!
>
1 ?% ]+ G) z# a  _5 P& n> 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
> 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
> '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
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
1 \% V9 G* G: y9 }1 }> 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
% ?9 n- i1 j  I% z4 K5 H> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
/ @% f4 |! O& u, q* Z> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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% J$ W% R0 g6 `4 R8 n> You now have two choices:
" b/ x9 \0 B, X/ Y" h! O6 K& R9 F1 S> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
" j% g' |  ^( n4 y, L' e. a( K2 g> May your day, be a Shay Day.