Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> 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
8 S0 V+ n6 ~; y> same choice?
>
7 p. H5 C' U3 j+ M' A1 u1 q0 o  {> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
8 B) `; ?6 v2 D& o+ K5 e9 Z" p> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
1 W$ P- c* X7 [/ `& ]> 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
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
, h; g8 r* [. v- o/ I% T> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
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6 D' c( I" B! h; x3 \> The audience was stilled by the query.
8 T2 Y9 @7 g& N4 B3 }>
  t# O& k. P5 `" j( A8 \0 K> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
6 Y+ O, _1 R/ f> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
4 T3 _3 W$ y  h. V3 a> treat that child.'
>
! ]! a; o5 D( v3 w0 N& a8 S> Then he told the following story:
7 ~7 K6 F: k  I( ?  M>
/ [) p2 h% U$ D, J9 s> 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
* i0 U: y, \- R> 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.
8 g- R- A) G4 B1 f2 t>
> 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.'
7 L) [1 ?2 o5 A$ Z- B>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
4 U" w7 f5 X, J7 p3 b7 X> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
9 G* J+ g6 m9 V% J5 l, ?: b' w> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
: T% [0 p9 c7 v9 m2 i6 y3 |> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
0 O! C, K' N. k7 v$ b  |6 K  ^> 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
# \) Y7 y* A# D$ \9 `> 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
> next at bat.
2 t8 z5 a3 R% r, K# ~, ]) b2 i>
> 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
' ~. i8 J% d2 @> 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
> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
3 S0 v+ P% t0 z. Q* t: H# |> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
$ s5 l0 |( h# v. Q> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
0 B' n$ H; C) T' u3 ]4 w, r! T& ~) M> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
% b; p& K0 ]' X- }1 g) S> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
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> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
7 N6 |/ o1 [5 c( @# X0 y> 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
6 d- F8 U" Q$ X> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
' d! E& K4 X" m* k* l9 o: r' E> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
% m5 p6 q7 K. a) m1 z, i( k, D$ S> 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
9 G8 \9 s0 h1 z> 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
& K+ O# C( K* a> 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
> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
: ]9 a0 j. o5 e; @1 L4 u7 M>
" R0 F  Y+ D- a; q& d# z* H. D> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
8 Y7 }2 K+ p* T7 [5 F$ O> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
' }% E  h8 r$ G8 N6 ~5 o7 ~! F3 t3 f> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
) G4 b' m) Z5 w) I> Shay, run to third!'
>
* F$ `5 p+ @8 G> 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.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
$ Q* d) \1 c# g) O0 p5 _. S> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
1 ^/ U' v7 k; q9 U" X+ {9 e7 b>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
2 @; d9 O* g" `& d2 p/ q# Z8 s> 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!
>
" l2 F2 c' M3 ]  R; v( `> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
, E' w5 \3 C' D> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
5 l7 f) X2 D- e* f' i5 n8 i) W> 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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% U: j) X8 S; Y- h2 E> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
0 e4 t  R5 j9 o; I/ Z4 c8 Q% h> 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
, C3 D: J$ a4 [2 \> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
+ o$ _8 |) e& ~, L& a# o> 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
  M. r1 l3 W$ B  G8 g% r> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
+ b8 c, m, C' n8 P, h" i! Y> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
4 @# D3 A9 P( G0 @4 U: }> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
9 p7 ]7 [; _6 B1 ~6 v/ W# ]% \7 o>
> You now have two choices:
- M2 w/ s- G! k) w  v4 P; d# ]> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.