Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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/ a6 ?" T  W3 I7 g! _7 h> 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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+ }, ?7 y9 [$ S3 M/ F8 n- _1 z> 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
0 P- ~, N1 g7 k8 [& m4 m> 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
& J6 e, ]! a4 o  x7 q& i> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
5 H) @: q: i- d3 s6 l/ J> natural order of things in my son?'
>
# N2 E: @( y8 w$ g" v( I> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
: t  a( R" N7 t  |> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
- G: n1 Q! F$ U+ i, O- n> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
* c# N: n& X, l, R: D6 a> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
1 D# ~. U7 j' x& B' f* f6 s3 b1 ~> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
>
> 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,
> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> 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
2 B: [- H$ Y# q6 h1 d/ Z4 d> 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
4 U: S5 c' R1 E. l; Y8 T4 {> 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
> 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
. _* V' e9 A/ `9 n6 X% X( X> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
/ v+ ]4 D; d- l/ \+ N> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
, z. D1 U. c5 m+ s) F7 Q1 U- a> next at bat.
>
) m6 `& X  k1 @# V5 T' E# f: h> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
" x/ i1 H% ~5 W) @* l; m> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
1 T& t6 R6 D) `: r8 p> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
& @0 n( Q" Z4 ?8 u8 E> much less connect with the ball.
% D( P  I# x% Y. Y> 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
; r1 H/ T  x1 Q: y> 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.
>
, l, ?: f7 Q0 x5 U7 ?+ c) F> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
) F' {+ {8 u, x1 o. N1 _1 y- v6 K> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
3 J/ ]; s, m  Q0 b> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
. G% y* x6 j0 J* V" X> 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.
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1 s( ?5 q. z. Y& L> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
3 ~5 Z. g% w4 ~( I7 w1 n& F> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
+ Z+ u5 x% B9 |. u: H) M0 o; B> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
* ~; J0 L! T! u/ m8 W> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
% j. {0 M% m0 C2 X* T! k) l> 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
$ n4 J/ U  B" z3 H7 r3 U1 [: b> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
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/ k# W3 v* z: x9 B> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
+ R6 V+ J/ |) T# N6 T0 k! @7 H: [8 U" }> 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!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
" ^  Q) d9 ]/ Z# Q; ^> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
- y% N! w2 v2 J7 l, c( \/ h! g> 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
0 l. N# q/ q/ G- E4 H> game for his team.
>
, j% N9 o, e% o+ X% O4 F( b> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
/ z9 f) C  E9 E9 J6 `/ g> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
7 I6 C6 l. Y& C% Y> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
  ]2 g8 c# [, s5 Y4 {( G> 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
> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
) X+ X/ ?% i1 A- Y5 y1 T8 v, Y) q! f> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
) s- h+ b- m, ]* A4 F5 L$ `> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
/ t4 b/ X6 @7 j> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
9 x" z. P- z; \> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
8 w1 u# v1 K5 P% ?4 \> 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
) p4 y8 d8 w% H1 j> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
2 p/ Q) ?; X' ^> 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
( v4 h+ y5 P0 e: M2 a9 Z% A! ]/ F> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
3 @$ V% X9 s- Z> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
  U% B- D; T2 ?& e4 W! `> You now have two choices:
: u& ]$ a1 R" j) e& E+ ^9 C  y$ R* |> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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  z! P. v  x2 J- s! Q! w> May your day, be a Shay Day.