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
> same choice?
>
& Q# a! N7 ^3 b$ C> 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
; q' S. L* d1 D+ Y1 j1 _7 u> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
5 t% t& E" [, h! E>
> '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
# z. a3 S# n  O' c+ [$ ]6 {> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
+ a/ V7 Q9 J2 H) G) j9 H9 {> 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
7 v" ]/ `- k2 K0 v( `+ l> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
  n  f! `* k& z1 l7 Y> 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,
> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
4 W3 t( Y  l- m& y3 ~* ~1 E> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
$ i+ [: }0 D4 e$ m8 Y> 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
' @0 v. A* M0 r3 P> 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
. D' V! [- j4 t' L  e, ?> inning.'
; _! ^% n- U% b) U6 y# a7 m6 Z>
7 ]0 ]; S0 D1 J- ?" I& F> 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
> 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
> 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
> 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.
$ g5 {- F, d% [! L& ]>
9 N( f8 u5 Z/ D9 |( c0 V> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
$ l- {( |, }  A0 U> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
/ P: i' v4 }" N> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
9 w1 R% X7 Q. y. t6 L7 V1 R' S* }> 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
> 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
2 T. N) [7 x' ^1 r* X6 y9 D> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
) R3 E+ ]; J; l9 Q' f- D> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
& M  E* a0 ]  @6 q4 e+ f> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
  S! A8 {8 N" u5 \# @0 U> 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.
* z' a" U& ~: }0 o/ F$ t$ `/ [>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
+ G6 b6 v& F4 z7 U; ^> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
+ H2 p8 g: }7 H9 ]$ E! r" `/ ^' D> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
! \' U( [! p$ t1 M5 c  X; w! B6 E' e# t> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
/ Z! p/ E% d/ {' {! H. L1 P> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
, r# k7 I8 e& h* F/ }> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
  G5 n+ j& Y, c. I( h( }. w" |> 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
> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
, o& e, M4 ^- i' p- b' i2 y# c) V>
- d: o- g  C* h) C$ b, d> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> 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!
" s- x$ p3 I# t" V> Shay, run to third!'
>
> 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
9 v0 ~; x9 a$ b/ |& ]! e  `% k8 ~> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
>
/ \5 o! p# G8 {" b( ?0 I> '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
> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
" |" H! [. P* w& V( B* I- m6 B> 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!
>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
4 H' R9 t- ?, ]9 q, b  D> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
( S: U/ H- i* ?* e) u, n> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
; B$ I6 i# i1 y1 d1 [% m9 U' s> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
" u' h; V" ~1 M# D) Q  P# ?> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
0 ^# S- _0 d" w> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
$ C$ p3 v, K' p  F: F> 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
0 U+ k6 k( _# `2 `9 Z* C1 J9 |6 b> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
7 a3 \+ `$ d* o0 v( |7 S0 d> 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/ q# q* ?4 t, a9 s> bit colder in the process?
! y8 `% Y8 u5 n' o' v>
1 J. M8 ?% y) y/ U) [> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
8 q3 P5 t5 F# p# M>
: S4 K% t- p- ~1 h> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
3 N9 A# `; w4 d: s> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.