Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
, W; G8 `% S; ]8 K, W+ n> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
( W$ j9 Z, y1 ?- ^; o> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
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% H  l3 E2 G8 T% G> 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
8 Y1 T% D4 s0 H* E> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
& S! ^' M! M4 b; [/ m& n# u> staff, he offered a question:
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7 T# H, ^& W8 t' S> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
; L! K9 v8 C3 m0 @9 y> 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
. @+ Z" p; N4 S3 v; G: U7 C> natural order of things in my son?'
>
$ I9 r9 P' S; O9 u4 [' h  M> 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
8 C: V: ~7 L( Z! ?> treat that child.'
>
4 p- A2 b; e/ Q" y% A6 f! F> 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
> 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
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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9 m; q3 v# R! @8 n. Z$ L& B; q> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
2 |) Q: J3 m8 l> 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.'
/ h1 y' q2 s0 I3 e>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
- g, l2 v6 j5 G) L% l> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
! [/ o& T/ e# P  R: A7 k> 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
: g" E: p. U" W; T2 d> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
: G8 L: I8 ]; `- H/ d/ ^+ d> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
1 `* F# z% z- P2 q! S$ H> 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
( ]; F4 X) M* N, f: J  P. f- r' p> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
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; Z6 G, T2 ]4 @% [6 j> 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 m/ v  t+ j) |2 J$ s' }7 o> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
+ |2 ?/ y: @- W( Q" x" s& M> 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
> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
! G  ]9 z& C3 ^2 q, ?' q7 w> 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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- N9 P% t* d" j) }9 q/ g> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
, U" @, a: X5 v2 B* V> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
8 t4 D& C1 F& @4 a% i; W> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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( b$ t8 C; o6 _7 o% e1 ^> 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
" n6 V, q' W9 H> 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
+ A1 \/ B: g4 K) p> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
0 K2 w; x) g3 D9 d1 x4 j* ~> 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,
6 b7 _% p# u( z& D3 |- J> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
$ u2 Z: A0 K, K- K5 d> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
$ _- J4 O( `' I( H7 I/ e> 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! m# J2 c+ I& C/ ]& {& x> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
) O+ Z$ I/ ], t1 }+ M, d! t> Shay, run to third!'
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> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
- b% ?* e& F0 g" @% w4 l' a> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
0 g) E3 u1 V& {9 b0 @> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
>
$ e& Q( {: v2 D> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
- @) R6 S8 S* x7 m% I- q$ R% t> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
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> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
* O% o( E! t+ @> 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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7 X$ D' c/ D8 G& r> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
9 `- s/ o, d% J+ @1 r+ 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
$ u5 L3 N' W( N; z5 c! Z5 \> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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7 y) [/ H# v! A; E% @8 u  d> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
" U" C& G. ^  q$ x/ x# z* O> 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
8 l4 p  \2 G: F- K> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
$ p6 F9 Z' N- D6 `; J> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
4 }  o' a, h# C% F9 J> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
  s( ~% g- @/ F" g% t) B> 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
7 W( E  ^3 y2 z! ^' y  K: l/ R4 e> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
7 H* F% e8 H1 T$ m" R. j>
% u" V, t9 D# \5 O0 I> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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- Y% ^, m# L, b8 G> May your day, be a Shay Day.