Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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0 @* N/ ?4 W+ {9 O> 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?
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> 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
> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
1 H# u+ A6 p, f$ r4 M  }> staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
' u, P" e  M2 }& M$ q, S1 Z( E> 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?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
. G2 M7 k  B3 l/ Y8 W> 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 a7 l3 X! J3 L6 G> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
% v- Y3 \; ?" V% V" h/ W> 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
2 e0 Y. q5 h' q7 ]5 i> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
* b3 A7 \; r1 [8 e& l% Q) F  G> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
) @- b$ \/ L5 r  M: ?1 h& H> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
7 m7 }8 H+ Z/ ?  C> 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
2 J& y+ {" H& H: V> 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.'
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> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
8 D! \: D" [0 J> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
; W) x- u% l- E' R! W) ~. J5 H/ Z> 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
> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
# b/ r2 h5 H+ [( X1 c> 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
& P0 |3 N* W: s5 U) h" Z6 m> 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
) ~6 F, }$ L% \! @$ A* l> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
3 c0 F+ l3 Q  }$ @( D% _. J> next at bat.
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9 {6 y! F" f% h8 T5 }# i, x0 H> 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
> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
1 K$ e2 z) l  R7 E( V) k7 Y> much less connect with the ball.
3 W3 @2 h5 ~) l4 b. @' n> 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
7 M* O. w0 o( c  v8 b. |> 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
3 [; z/ V! Y" Q& O- y> 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
9 F% o1 |7 q* s" v> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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+ `+ L# b3 h6 l5 y0 `3 @4 X" q> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
4 ^7 b7 b$ I2 _" u- t/ U* H> 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
- H7 O8 r  m7 ^) c1 R5 h- \> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
8 [7 e& O2 t4 r% V5 [0 U, \> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
- Y; A  }3 {4 B$ J" A> 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
5 _8 N) G) Y1 ~+ H> 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
& H0 o7 K' l1 ^' N> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
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5 `* H9 Z2 W; y- Q1 S8 W, C) S> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
4 M& a; d; X4 x> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
3 h# N$ C4 t4 d7 d; x/ E8 u> Shay, run to third!'
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9 L) A! [3 @( v5 a  P! I1 u$ o> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
' [* x% l3 d* \6 N/ {> 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
5 F9 z9 H. r' I. U6 z0 G$ K8 r7 E> game for his team.
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) P; h# q# w6 f/ r> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
! l( h5 i1 s3 v  I> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
6 a* Y3 x* C- T7 r> into this world'.
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- m* @  H/ U% s$ D& O$ M( g> 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
> 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
# {0 _  H9 g; t9 C7 {" r4 X$ n> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
' U1 g* V  E+ _5 G0 l+ K- Y. x> 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.
>
- P* u5 l: f% c# n% q> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
* Y( Y) e6 I) L  N- L% n> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
8 \! [8 }+ l$ p& g& [+ d! E> '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
9 `. r% s0 {' W3 C, Y, M! B> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> 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
> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
; h" t+ Y: I4 X! _> 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:
/ Q( z0 I% A5 ~& m$ Q8 l> 1. Delete
% `) R. |7 d9 j# N  Z9 I> 2. Forward
>
5 S1 U1 g& X( \9 ^) l* I5 Y> May your day, be a Shay Day.