Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> 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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) R$ D0 Y& ~  ~( T$ N2 J! G> 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
; E" W6 \2 }5 F/ @> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
9 d6 R- g7 H6 D  u" E. X" s4 c! T2 i0 Y> staff, he offered a question:
>
5 A9 ~3 H* B9 U. x. x> '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
> natural order of things in my son?'
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> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
- y; V" k1 o2 d) s* \( B4 o5 w  z' g> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
$ K; }9 y3 w1 [3 }4 m2 W> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
/ ~( p. d; J0 m: N3 X5 P8 L> Then he told the following story:
>
8 v- I: h3 \* V& C1 @5 C( p> 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
2 B( |, }7 C; [6 W: Q4 A3 p1 ]" ?> 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
0 u% E* J) \7 P  e> 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
> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
0 F) F( q2 k3 {3 J- T> 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 b8 b0 _* y$ B7 x; a- u5 D1 d, k  A> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
2 r3 `6 N0 I& j) M' D) u  }> 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
5 D( }" ]/ p- Z> 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
+ e. g  ^, t! s$ s0 d> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
8 \, _. ^4 \+ J( i& q> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
3 u2 i# u6 S& \* A> 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.
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> 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,
> 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 [/ t0 Q( F8 |. f> 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
> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
& ]: A0 m* [0 {> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
: m( B7 }8 i% |) O$ X> right back to the pitcher.
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> 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
> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
" Y. b; c# n1 `% W> 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
9 Q7 P5 n/ G3 v0 T6 B1 h> 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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0 M! d9 N! x& \: d, P> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
; l* b$ q; U/ T9 I8 ]. w4 e> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
: `- d) i4 j# j> 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
; P$ Z; G# _* _; L> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
& {5 E% a4 y) B> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
0 I: d- w  H# Q$ h" }3 K> 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.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
' v" q3 O- [! ]- Z: O  R$ Z> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
! Y% v' v' M" t5 L0 Y% r+ F> Shay, run to third!'
>
( U! G9 X. |" z/ N8 Q> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
' ~' s6 b1 R4 c0 D( ?# g> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
- k7 I4 Q3 p+ c4 X. Y! H* g( M> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
2 t6 X- X9 m) @2 ]5 u> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
3 t  Z  S: _7 R2 M> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
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> 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
  c) t, u. `: q> 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
& V* B1 [8 v6 n% P> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
" A4 _" Y' C3 D" j) N- g9 D> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
! i* M1 S7 E8 {3 d> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
> 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
$ B: O0 a6 L2 `2 x# A  [> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
/ L$ ^! a: \1 Q" V( s; e1 z> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
9 b6 S6 t; K6 y$ z6 Y! ~> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
" Y- e  v" R$ B4 h- C> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
7 A/ t$ M1 C1 Y. h% i, u> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
0 y, s3 }/ p7 X0 D' J! g> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.