Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
* M) [5 y# Z4 b, H> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
+ f* C, Y; M- g6 l& ~/ Z> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
>
3 \  G3 b; P' Q/ m: s! a! `> 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
) `- U3 n2 o' W9 @1 O> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
6 x# S' L2 H1 c+ Z( o8 `1 h> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
% A* D5 v, b# M4 _' v2 H$ b> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
% q# q+ V- l' k2 o' |2 I! Z> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
; \+ C8 W" n0 L. \> natural order of things in my son?'
6 {$ o- Q! H7 J/ Y: R  d- C>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
5 K+ N7 P1 r& N, T* W5 Q>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
; i* M! Y8 H  [2 {) o) O  u> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
4 a' Y4 P0 h4 o0 `>
> Then he told the following story:
; R2 C! C& P; p- O; r>
> 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.
3 E' `% p7 ]7 e* P>
# ^! K% P1 `1 Y' q" O  s+ f> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
5 a& R8 ?1 N; |, `% a& Q0 t> 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
( U, |: S) g2 r" t) m> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
8 Q1 ^, f4 n( A7 V) f  n+ f$ ]> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
* C* ^$ o$ W2 g1 k/ F1 S> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
, G2 C2 O7 |' l! K! G$ z2 s> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
+ }) q+ S% `- V  |> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
0 E4 P! B& ^$ @* T> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
6 x  u8 V+ {" k# w; I0 P( H- O# \> 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
# b: z" p0 I  [6 a, |> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
+ v3 j6 O+ Q+ q" ^0 J$ o> 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.
3 Q3 Y* H  d) v! e& ~8 e>
6 M6 R- ?; d6 H. p' o7 I5 L* X> 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
* l( n) r  J( u; [9 Y6 B> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
7 c/ Q9 u! O3 ?* j% Y" F> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
/ u* X% F4 O1 y3 [+ [* g, Q5 X> 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
, ?0 t5 |/ ?( i1 k> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
0 ]3 ~" N' o3 m0 ~. d> 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
7 s! l: @; k( D  \+ G8 N- Y* }2 G> right back to the pitcher.
2 {+ [6 G4 M$ h& {4 F+ {$ b>
9 Z& y4 ~% T: V2 V; s> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
9 l! c. @2 z* h2 Y: b- o" f& m8 p> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
5 W: i% \  m$ g5 q, e> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
# U8 V; M; [; m" ^> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
6 Y7 v0 y, I0 q8 }2 E( z8 Z> 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
& z+ i' _* H# V+ C2 {1 Y> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> 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
# x. v$ D' e! j+ G# h> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
# X. |' A; X8 q* A- K. V> 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,
  E) g' V) a$ }# h+ x1 F0 X1 R4 f: X> 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
2 c" T. t' ^& V; I0 Y# E> circled the bases toward home.
  N/ X9 }" G" d% i+ @7 i>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
& D: E, K7 L1 j! h# a8 T+ D>
6 ]3 `' ?/ g, p4 U" D  l) [> 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!
  H7 `$ x8 Z, I! h> 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
- Z" c) q) s: T! e2 u! t' t" c. a> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
, U8 }4 h) r$ t0 f! @. u' H! A> game for his team.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
7 S" A2 }' L7 D: g> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
  k1 D8 y- C+ E, O' I4 O) M> 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!
>
( e  D3 ~' g; t( p3 E/ t> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
7 r& a$ e7 s1 u5 y> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
. U3 }1 g- v0 y. G) Z> 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.
>
  A& v2 I* F1 C. F# e3 u1 _3 r/ f> 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
> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
> 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
( G4 U) E' g4 K& M4 g  ]> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
/ D# e% D8 U! k>
> You now have two choices:
" o: Z! q  P. j+ \4 y3 X> 1. Delete
1 j4 P# P. v( ^) a' _3 J. d> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.