Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
. }: {8 v/ i! g" N  B! Q> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
>
> 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 y& c+ a& }' F% ^> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
. x; P3 z6 f9 l+ M% _( Z2 W# I> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
" z' J/ b4 E9 U, z- h$ i> 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?'
>
3 E3 k( {. [; {2 o  }> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
# P7 Z; i% m5 j7 t8 Z> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
0 K0 x( O7 S& C+ w> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
0 ~/ {& \) z/ M# ?5 B> Then he told the following story:
>
: o+ S+ \+ D& q9 Y. H6 Y> 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
; |! e' Q* D9 S) n5 L> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
+ d& L9 B" e! {" w8 p) L> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
# {( q" q1 z- \! i  r+ Z; Z> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
6 y% E' D3 c- n. ^, V  E> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
+ z$ I# W1 w4 h* z> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
  r5 b$ n( F. ~> 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.'
# _1 q# _, r) P/ b: b  e4 x& t>
> 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
$ y' C6 ?" j# P! w/ ]6 l> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
, O7 Q- v5 A: N6 q> 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
2 i* b" r1 m, w; R9 h3 f7 C  O> 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
> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
, m. M3 Q, z/ A, @. e; Q+ L5 ?> next at bat.
2 u, G1 D8 _0 \>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
# |* c+ o) y) C! U% }3 @2 ~: I; j> 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,
> much less connect with the ball.
* d7 N2 P( X5 u' d9 s3 l> 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
) j% A1 G. J; n- l> 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.
* i7 ~! j/ h- n4 X+ x. R% a, R> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
- k6 E' m# m' @4 @: q>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
1 j3 V6 W$ N4 P, D$ R% _> 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
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
8 X( Y. ~# ?8 K& p" x/ \3 l+ w! d>
' n  E6 M; o. d% h: ?8 Y4 n> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
" ]+ L& h5 Q2 }$ Y% \- ^> 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
) r/ e7 v6 \1 b. f  S0 M> 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
7 @! k4 X# B, ]- I" M7 W> 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
- g2 @) I7 H( v% }% t> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
5 C4 H6 V! z+ y6 ~$ P3 x4 j: D> circled the bases toward home.
) E+ |! c; b0 S' F>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
1 C5 i; I0 @8 d; S9 O5 P; ?> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
3 m- j, m! V! H& f& |$ ^> Shay, run to third!'
0 J) U& {9 x# T: f9 |% \3 i, ^>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
/ n8 N0 I$ a* C. r8 y, P6 K> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
- B( q0 B. g' T1 v/ F1 X. b. b> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
>
6 g0 S) [, t1 ]+ ^$ m5 e# c> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
* y3 V" _" |0 H/ f> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
% Z6 q( H. G) L4 L$ s3 J# Y>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
+ E  B; o/ x. ~3 G" F> 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!
$ M. N* i3 A" E, |>
> 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
  w, ?; j' q8 b- r0 I& O> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
! w) u! P! A2 |9 ]# v4 m% U>
1 o. ~) @1 A6 y: y% u5 u, s> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
! `3 C. p7 {- F: ?' R( \> 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
( |- v. S$ B' a  ^, F> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
2 R1 ~3 f% f7 M& Z> 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
; m- w$ ~. U7 N' }> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
( l* r/ \; t9 H> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
: K& O' `- ^; A6 ?- H* l>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
' [& I( A( e" r8 D: }> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.