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?
>
! Z2 X& B4 ]+ t# a9 U- M7 W1 W> 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
) _2 O1 m3 ~& q> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
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; W6 a- T) V5 x% c> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> 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
6 }7 F3 D- T% r2 d$ G> natural order of things in my son?'
>
+ z: O$ c, |& b2 I! R8 [> 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
> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
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$ q7 K, f1 G* L) T* G+ A% E> 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,
% _9 G4 g2 {; g; o* g  {> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
7 o% T9 F9 u. ~( q0 P6 ^9 v. e> 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
& p" H+ @7 G: P3 E8 Y& H$ N4 F* \) [& r> 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
9 K7 e, p0 D; Y% e> inning.'
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> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
+ B9 a2 B0 b1 {* F1 @- q- F> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
* R) W7 y/ c. ?6 M> 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
& {: t: M) _2 ?9 Y0 ?" P> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
) {6 ]7 A5 P0 W6 i; v  y> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
- h1 k5 n1 Q2 u& k# K. H8 r. A> 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
  r+ a  K8 H$ U3 I0 A9 M> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
0 u# L" K. ?+ M> 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
: p  x  M: `  _% w# i. @5 e> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
0 S3 D0 r6 o. s> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
; I1 C& m) ^( S0 x> 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
4 u" O* r8 K0 C> 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.
>
> 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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> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
" s; W2 ?/ S& W4 i$ n> 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
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> 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
8 H( N; s& ?3 B  v> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
1 K% A* L: {, }. S1 X8 T2 m* Q> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
" y2 L8 c, F; G: n" w  a' s- P/ ?> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
8 A! d+ O( z$ }9 U* e" q  F> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
* s% Y0 t+ i  [4 k: k+ ~$ i) q& D- u> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
* d' O* n9 {3 _  q- k3 n3 h% a> circled the bases toward home.
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> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
/ g9 }$ x; F( ~% Z8 r> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
# B# q  M$ I1 j) y' N7 |/ B> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
% P: M+ c% W/ l9 |  @/ G7 I, N> Shay, run to third!'
>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
  J  \) J8 N$ n$ C> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
, Z: L1 N3 S( O$ M- K9 o8 p) {> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
8 I* @+ R6 f0 H: t+ F> game for his team.
>
> '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
5 y- i5 f& a* F% O> into this world'.
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> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
0 x+ ?* c4 k1 ?. K> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
8 C3 I0 {; ?( `# K  l  w> 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
3 Z2 T% c9 T/ a> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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, e9 H- }4 Y9 F' O9 n1 c. `> 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
, E% X$ o% d  t* Z3 R> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
. p. O* ?% t1 c/ V' U4 t> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
' x5 [" \3 R% E3 c/ A! q> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
- d* {) g) D5 w% n3 s/ |" {> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
# s  C2 X# b0 T7 V$ @, ]( Y> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
6 c1 u- m6 P$ c& [4 ?  [> 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
5 P' `% y4 q4 Y2 s3 J, p> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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9 t$ n/ g7 f( a5 F0 k> May your day, be a Shay Day.