Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
5 F( E7 L' ~$ U  X1 N8 h( r' u> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
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# D8 ~! L) V; I' d$ p, k+ i" w) w> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
5 R4 ~, s2 I7 C+ F- ^> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
1 R, O( t7 I. O! s1 |+ J> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
0 F5 `, S7 ~1 o3 |. k# m> staff, he offered a question:
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. n% ]" m* F% l6 C. _! ]3 \4 |> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
: ]! q& f$ `: a( z3 P) o6 P% J% q> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
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, |; [3 y( C) s, \) C& s> The audience was stilled by the query.
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> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
4 `1 y, x# ?* y! _0 a> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
$ {4 \, e0 V) U' W- O% j7 y1 J> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
3 p1 a/ B( T- _$ Q$ W* {4 C) d> Then he told the following story:
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2 C; s: X- W' h> 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.
>
> 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
> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
5 O/ F: \1 T( m9 F> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
> 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
/ k# T, Q, Q9 ?& E0 ~$ D> 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
6 s% o9 O1 j3 w) }. u> 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
. Z6 R  y3 S/ l2 u( K> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
/ d( E9 \& C3 g! V' O> 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.
>
5 F& u, Q& E0 s& |0 R> 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
) E6 f6 r  F# ^2 U. C$ ^> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
5 A/ ^8 e8 P( q. h: w> 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
. B/ t% n6 X: Y+ @> 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.
>
' f7 A3 o9 Y. p- e- Z" o. d> 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
, t7 `; A, p5 ^> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
0 a, B7 {# F9 q> 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
/ E/ W# K6 [' z7 D9 ~4 V> 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
0 l1 f8 V  s" T: a5 Y6 e. z> 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
> 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
: N5 H3 L( D* H+ Y' a> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
. W3 l, s! F8 J, ~# m+ k+ X. ]3 ]> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
* }# I% i  ~0 L* T> 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
( X8 U5 H, c/ q3 Y8 f" D. O/ n> 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'.
>
( H2 T" {4 G8 j9 i  M3 u! o4 }> 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
: N, h# C' K* _> 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
> 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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5 I' R( W9 `7 W1 \! K5 v! }> 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
/ s/ U. l8 |' A" O, u  [8 }> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
7 E' o( M- ]4 g; c7 M> 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
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
: Q4 ~; F) I( L4 M" v> May your day, be a Shay Day.