Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
3 o2 }. N  y) K0 b> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
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0 ]  y  r+ z3 ]5 k9 q; D> 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
# `/ R( Z. E' ~$ d( j> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
# ]1 ?6 t8 Q2 g. n/ }> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
9 N6 q- ^* }! ]% Z- L1 Y8 s> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
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  _5 I: @$ N: X' z& m" [+ ?> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
1 L3 h  K  H1 ]1 q6 H3 V> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> 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:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
2 t$ s- F8 I" j" w# z8 A> 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
; q3 ?- k& F. @& {7 j# Z! `) P4 i> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
3 _* z- P! [+ J> 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
4 I& Y3 g4 v. }- }, w> 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.'
>
> 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
4 T4 `5 `1 X& X% C# a2 V+ y! d5 I> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
, G5 c; O+ m- k' T# I3 ?/ O( V> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
7 y: ]7 d- F* h+ q: ?> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
$ q" k4 G% c% w7 P; i3 S> 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
3 X3 T. R6 J0 o0 S$ j) H( c& g7 z> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
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> 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
) k& F) u* x% q. X> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
: E3 ?) C: D6 c$ N: b) z7 f> much less connect with the ball.
' I: @. N% o4 z3 @3 @> 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
8 k/ [" C$ e1 c! ]+ F& ?> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
* V0 Z/ W" o) B& u* f> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
* X$ P3 }' s. [+ v/ O! v+ t> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
7 I" H/ H- P! P/ F$ v> 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.
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4 o) X& h. y) e4 \5 U) \+ t> 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
7 g8 P; n; K( o! L> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
5 Q5 J5 u( b2 b; u4 v. {& }> 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 }# m7 Q* c6 i9 e5 E. R' `> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
* G+ C2 T6 q0 s& v4 L4 c% x$ K> 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
- `  ]* D4 ^$ m> 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
* [$ Y5 n4 O; ]; Q+ f" p> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
  D# P2 M7 P& B9 q  j> circled the bases toward home.
>
" z' @6 o, d( k. t$ X, b, ^> 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 X; X0 v3 }; T: Q/ A8 v  C> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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6 ^( ]( `: k; j1 c! L  G> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
8 N" k" X' P. g- m0 G& M7 ^8 Q> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
* v: v0 _+ ^6 K1 r> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
$ n' ?( l( T0 r0 P/ c> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
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" r- K, W2 }1 t' x  x. p8 J> 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
6 l' T4 x/ n. s7 Q$ U> 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
: o/ ~) v# Y" a> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
9 H) s/ p% U% t> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
. E7 l5 D. H5 h5 C( b, M4 }. P> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
! M6 o8 g: b( Y2 X3 l- f; U9 H: i> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
2 m. o. e; Q% j9 g6 ~> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
6 p! N0 r; U3 [6 c- A4 O> '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
! Q; s! H. @% C; r, \! \> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
, C8 i5 O0 T& e5 B( H> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
  x: z4 R+ S1 I> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
4 d4 m6 v3 @% W9 G4 m) o> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
& B- q" L* g% J" M6 x7 z> 1. Delete
$ b, U! U# `+ k7 A0 J/ w> 2. Forward
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, {+ K2 f9 \  ?% ?> May your day, be a Shay Day.