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?
' E: Y, m! S/ u" ]( h" E- l>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
. v9 N  V3 ]0 ~, w> 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:
>
9 o2 N% r2 e6 s> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
2 D( a. a( |# h# t> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
8 l4 L9 S0 [# @* O6 d> natural order of things in my son?'
0 X  s2 M1 l- J' C" S2 E>
3 |5 u; V' d2 g7 }: i> The audience was stilled by the query.
- e* ~3 c" I" A4 I>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
# u# Q! x" J9 G* X% T> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
' ^2 Q! _* `+ J' `> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
3 v% d* R5 F. F$ r& v; }: T> treat that child.'
) E" H" |, l1 k% x' Q4 q/ X& }>
/ P/ K- o/ X! a9 D8 i# D7 T$ I> Then he told the following story:
; R& N! u6 n* ?1 V>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
; t9 {' S$ F2 h, ?4 A) ~> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
2 S; U: L1 k8 \9 J% e> 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,
) m* D# W/ V+ G# a; k, K( a> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
% Y0 N+ F" K$ v' R5 n. d; e> 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
* n" l7 R: L! I2 P> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
/ L6 d8 P; Q' E" ]> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
% \/ c4 U  u% `$ n% E7 b1 N7 o> 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
> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
( m" R; E, [& B6 z0 `& m> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
' P& X5 P- t% v, |! f" b> 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
* E3 E9 d7 c+ E$ D3 {( O> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
! ^9 r  V. Y/ R> 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.
>
> 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
- D( ~3 r( N: K8 a& j> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
$ }, i8 ~8 j1 G> much less connect with the ball.
, K+ }$ n0 F* S  Q+ e> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
; C0 x! Z  y- v> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
2 i: o4 D! C) z: E+ e. h8 N> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
7 @( F' U% F" x% ]* x8 K! g+ c$ c> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
9 z5 W8 X8 e7 t- Y> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
3 h# G+ ]3 ?, o6 R0 p. Z> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
/ F/ {8 F1 ?( Y> 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.
>
+ z+ t" t* O; D1 l. L> 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
/ C4 Z3 M6 C2 b> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
1 |! {4 v- C. a* T3 ~( s+ z7 d> wide-eyed and startled.
; n9 z3 n$ |3 y6 P5 H: A! x>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
% D& N( ~( H0 z, I, C/ {> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
0 d: A, t& a. \8 Q( e1 Z+ ^> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
4 w. Y9 m% u0 g2 J> 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,
, l" A& n4 W, e, s0 _* {% j/ E> 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
+ g" z- d8 }+ {9 W> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
# n& q/ d9 M2 r+ L8 W>
> 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!
> Shay, run to third!'
$ v' ~  [+ l% p. T9 j>
> 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 q1 \! D, ~7 T  G! {* F+ k# \! G> game for his team.
; O8 U  V4 ]0 U) ~% h3 [>
( |9 s) W; p' C+ k7 u! n> '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
7 U( g7 \' r. {2 C> into this world'.
: d. s; l# d% {, M& [' n>
8 h  d* ]- A$ _. n: [: y7 f> 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
9 b2 K+ f# F0 j2 J4 _> 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
" x0 o) d$ f; A5 u  w8 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
* g3 R; j  p  Q8 ~> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
. @. a6 r% F; Y; h# ?7 S> 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
7 I0 d; [, x7 Q. a6 D1 B> 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
/ W0 r7 S7 X  W6 _> 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
. @$ ?8 D1 s7 `6 g, |> bit colder in the process?
>
> 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
- x) E% a1 i, N5 E> 2. Forward
# l* w" c/ v2 v. X; O7 J>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.