Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
* K# B! Q% V: \- Y. b' |) o  q- j> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
; ?, Z) j9 T9 X) g> 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
& C# U/ T6 U2 q  i1 j! K) q3 H# |0 C> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
/ T( U7 ]) B- \9 }> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
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8 G( Q( G! i: m0 K/ N+ {2 K7 t+ V> The audience was stilled by the query.
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> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
+ q) |, U0 T  p: Q6 ~> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
" A  j, g) y% a3 j2 Y5 j/ Z0 m2 O> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
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% ~+ i" g  c6 R5 E5 ]" s> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
6 X; d1 e' O1 v1 C* J> 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
0 W; h( _' _. U* p* 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
> 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
" `7 X# U: E2 a2 j* }, v4 {> 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.'
>
  J* p$ ]0 S, u! Q+ @> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
7 ]! v: j0 i- b$ S5 ?/ k, b0 p> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
& {0 W8 w, B! p" l5 ^> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
% z2 i- G: b. Y  p7 F> 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
> 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
> 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
# N% p6 E! i7 K, d6 h6 o> next at bat.
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8 I7 _% J( R, f$ d> 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
5 L" N3 x5 J* e. y> 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
> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
* D& @: @$ t+ x  _  _+ ~4 O> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
0 B7 m! r/ k9 s" M& E& D> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
7 D2 z& {- V2 i9 H5 c, \> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
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2 o' K* o, R) C1 g7 v> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
9 R/ r) M+ o& d> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
! A8 C4 p) o/ s# W0 r1 d3 }# R> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
: M. f0 w- h6 y+ O> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
2 ^- u, W- }, _* y0 r+ Y> 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
' N8 Q( W# A/ Z0 Q- @> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
0 j5 n) \) c. ~+ Y% H) g+ b> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
& ~- ^" h  m  e: S4 h* k> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
) h% P5 J- w! v> 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
1 T' V7 o+ ~) d+ x> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
9 a9 Y, I7 d) C6 q> circled the bases toward home.
>
> 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
2 y5 q( Y4 a& P0 v2 z+ k> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
6 x4 c+ A. \4 F4 C+ {& l. I9 r> Shay, run to third!'
>
) M  X) h/ k: T: I  t0 u2 c8 R> 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
9 f6 w3 s) p* G> 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
* J1 g: v0 i9 A6 i( n& K: z; E> into this world'.
>
4 z9 u) x4 `/ }$ Z> 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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> 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
1 P; y8 r2 H3 \0 `0 [9 D8 K> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
; U4 ]! t. ], ^) {+ l> 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
) v' }, p1 u% V+ q> 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?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
$ k/ ~" u1 ^& C3 v  H' r> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
( w( A$ x: a& D> 1. Delete
7 Z8 U0 l1 A& d: E> 2. Forward
>
3 I, Q( d: ~" I5 F5 L% D* Q. S) f> May your day, be a Shay Day.