Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> 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,
7 y. y/ {! p6 P# n/ ]> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
& {5 K2 A. O- N* r8 N> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
( I' u0 M( x& [9 D2 C7 y7 D4 Q> staff, he offered a question:
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7 f/ J2 Z) k! ^0 U8 B> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
9 v; n% \& B5 o1 x> 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
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
4 s, f( h3 V- L( q; e9 I; e/ `> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
: h+ u0 [! T7 s! d) A; J> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
! t: P5 l4 V9 o$ Y> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
! v4 O2 [4 @7 \0 R. A> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
) V4 _5 a: n/ f) E& p* u> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
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> 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
; u" m. [. T# y- b' S> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
1 }$ ]4 n5 g: T, o: _> 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
; [5 K' _! f& N: G% O& T> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
! {( z6 C* s# x: F5 {+ f> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
! p  b. _) o+ [, f. n> 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.'
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* t0 J# e% p- B* U3 q1 G% i> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
) V$ i2 K! o" O# f# k3 v4 A> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
6 C. c8 Q/ E2 `& L# [/ h> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
9 @  H) p& k8 B& I  o$ r> 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
; E) G# B% a/ L) |) h3 V> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
3 k: ]- t9 y& ]! V2 G' M7 j1 [, X> next at bat.
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> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
) i0 A$ J& Z: Q3 R# y+ V& s> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
1 ?# T4 r4 G" u, c* U> 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
- _& \/ Q3 C4 t5 t3 ~* L9 J+ q7 w> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
) ]2 A4 h6 d# m> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
  D9 ~; E: C5 G" f- k$ {" d> 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.
$ {* t4 s4 n' Q$ O1 g/ H> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
; g8 n9 }$ l  u$ c8 A4 B' J$ ^4 A> right back to the pitcher.
>
# i4 B6 U; Z; L2 K* F, @> 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.
>
> 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
; ~' d1 _( M* r5 E2 I> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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. {. ?/ Z: H. b> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
! x# z3 a! k. A3 E% H+ E> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
5 E# z) K" d& d+ ~* V: [> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
. g- e2 Z/ I% B1 u> 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,
: I7 u% U  b  T( f( H$ s" g! C> 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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> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
/ _& [0 b) W0 C> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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> 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
> 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
> into this world'.
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! h% j; F. A. x# h, ~. D/ l) f> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
+ h/ C) _: M3 f> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
/ h! Q0 L/ r2 e& p$ w7 ~. D; W4 R> 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
* A+ d1 S' f$ g> 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
> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
( o' p8 u: {: x" B; N/ g% d+ S$ 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
- F" p; S' @. _- |% G# x> 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?
>
  e9 r- K6 X  F9 U$ S8 b, ^: \> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
/ S( r4 t4 J2 t> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
- h% z; ^4 D0 s. M( d> 2. Forward
>
; p5 _+ @/ ]& {8 y# U; A. a! ^: ^> May your day, be a Shay Day.