Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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/ z$ q: p# b" d# C" B" }- I, h* L6 X> 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?
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> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
3 M$ m' S! Q) X% C, v) ~> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
! a/ m) r- @5 |0 k. b> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
6 A1 O. [) e4 H- m4 I5 h% J4 ?> staff, he offered a question:
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5 \/ {: c& _& |, W. {( g> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
+ A1 O3 S! ^: @: p: _> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
- n8 W! N/ U3 S> The audience was stilled by the query.
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  \) ^) N5 G' O& P/ ?: H- c. s> 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.'
>
9 {9 s: D9 y% b% C2 b7 U! f> Then he told the following story:
>
7 d7 v* Z* i, M  r$ h1 d% c> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
4 m: ]" C0 Q$ W) M5 a> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
! ~+ \. f+ Z8 s( j3 r> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
1 ~$ `; Z/ A% h* S. H/ j/ y* c* O$ s> 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
  H. K5 v. j9 l/ @9 u> 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
( E* r( [9 n" d> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
$ l- B# L5 V2 j* f> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
9 r6 Y! X0 c7 U9 F> 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
- u/ [( Z$ H, U/ K$ Y6 N> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
+ b$ a8 K. {$ H& f3 {  s. P" @> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
, f! S$ L& S/ e1 {* P9 D# N5 o> 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) T/ O: e+ t> 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
; e! W3 \, B& @6 y3 Q> 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.
>
* b7 ^# d) }5 O9 [  O# H> 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
4 c3 Z4 X: b, J5 h: _> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
+ B( r5 d* L6 {- N# H$ D6 L, L> 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
5 W% ?4 A9 Q6 v4 _> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
3 N5 u. |) C( N> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
* P0 h( Q; _. `> 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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& w- K/ j. T" z) |5 C, u2 ]> 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
* @: l: ]: N& ]2 i5 L5 y7 G> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
0 c2 x  I  K, w. ?> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
0 {3 Y3 g6 v1 J6 A, t( y8 [> wide-eyed and startled.
>
3 ~$ o: z/ w& k8 @7 B+ A" _; x2 A9 Q> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> 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
/ w" k1 Q, ~# M/ K2 m  ?> 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
> circled the bases toward home.
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+ t1 ~  Q; f/ O" P- L2 e6 i- Q> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
; v; _; h" T5 {: J4 T> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
% J( I# ^% \, b, F0 E  r' U: j> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
) }9 a9 u( V' i9 I> Shay, run to third!'
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0 V# o( H# H% ]7 V> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
8 L4 S' |' m* }# }  e> 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
1 e, }9 H4 q3 n+ _4 Y5 ^4 O> game for his team.
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+ |' @( z/ w% ?3 A> '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
/ F3 Z5 F# ]6 Q& V6 @0 Y9 T> into this world'.
>
5 v& m+ S& l+ u, k/ R> 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!
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2 T) Z, d7 M1 p% L> 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.
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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
7 Y- H0 |( _# D2 L' v# r) ^0 G( F, M) Y0 u> '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
( G1 J+ c) x! U0 d, _5 h1 j> 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
> bit colder in the process?
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> 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.