Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
) E& }, a  ~6 H> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
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. K8 ~% I9 W% t> 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
( S; o9 X- y2 V- K> staff, he offered a question:
>
$ B0 u+ @( g* t$ k  b+ I, H  m> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
* c5 b  Z+ Y0 E9 F/ g! _  r> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
0 N1 `  T! j/ V# e> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
3 Q% s/ j% n! ?> natural order of things in my son?'
>
/ P- M; n8 p8 n> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
% h! D" B. X2 b( V0 b. r+ j" Z5 N> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
% g; O2 `0 s3 \1 h> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
> 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
1 j+ s5 u2 |; M* f0 q> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
9 ^' _2 p; ~3 }> 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
> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
+ r# \9 f9 e, P, C( p2 s6 _# y. g> 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
" z& x6 Y  E  H9 w, k* a> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
6 F9 x, b, U: s$ f> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
% X5 l* X. @+ P& J> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
( h$ [0 l5 o+ W- v& T' d0 \> 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
> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
  P1 Q) D8 q: @# x2 b  i> 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
> 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,
1 c5 w( c6 e, W0 b3 Z2 r$ u- ^4 K5 |> 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
7 f# T3 t1 P# q# P> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
4 B, C$ b4 S& F5 A2 }+ g- O% B> 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
> 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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1 e7 S5 `* K) G1 _6 @$ L7 t) i> 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 S$ _- Y6 y& `) {3 n: @> 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.
>
- V: o: Y9 ^) W0 z; x4 }  I' z> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
2 d' Z5 f3 q! m, R: @  H& g> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
) J2 M( }4 _8 v) j8 `. b0 ]& E> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
2 q- j( M4 f, F$ a> 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,
+ X3 {* @) N" G+ ~> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
6 X. }+ U  a1 w" ?/ ?# d6 H! [> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
. Y! C  g1 `& \> circled the bases toward home.
>
, [2 K1 P9 r+ q> 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
> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
$ W( @, g% Y  P> Shay, run to third!'
>
> 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
2 r" z& f; O/ N> game for his team.
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+ _5 ]# Q9 P6 y> '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
" |( Q4 E1 O; k1 Y  j> into this world'.
>
> 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!
>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
2 x. Y9 d$ n; C+ r7 q- C  @, u> 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
$ G' |6 N, Z& O% @+ `> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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> 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
: [2 y7 ?; U* X) {> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
, m$ Y4 y' i) s. @0 J$ K  X; I' E> 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
0 M1 n  b% E3 K; G- U; l( I> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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$ `/ y  ?  D2 H& v> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
: Y2 Y$ D4 K, N* _> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.