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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> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
' F( K! ]' k* j" l> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
' m; a/ @/ a( z! ]% o% H/ a, ?% H> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
7 U  D. [, F& n: }& w> staff, he offered a question:
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* j, s* g% d( v' x> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
. q$ w  q4 q' I% B$ I: A> 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
; U& X2 }0 _' V4 `$ v* i0 j- ~6 p( A> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
2 A) T; L( h% m3 q> 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
> treat that child.'
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% y8 R  O( G. ^" ^. d2 H6 U% `> 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
> 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
> 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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& F0 y- p$ q* Z- C8 r> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
1 u; q) ]8 V0 n2 D9 }3 Q/ `> 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
4 g$ y( `+ F8 m% L) }> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
) S8 d, s2 |2 }> 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
1 ]: w( D+ W3 ]: N- @$ g' \( g> 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
$ V, @+ U% W5 V% p& R3 @> next at bat.
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4 v2 [) {5 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
- q5 _; X4 v; m% Q& C> 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
5 h( B8 S* {, ]> 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.
> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
/ `; c9 F; G, F' @5 G) @> 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
% C; ~6 `9 O# f> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
" j! _+ ]+ w* ?8 W2 [6 j8 O> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
! w* W/ R* l6 a9 L4 ]7 x4 g8 V> 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,
) w$ q/ \0 q6 o) o5 c7 F" o# l> wide-eyed and startled.
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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
8 _" c8 N" H4 e+ w> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
0 E6 C1 X" e9 U1 t5 R> 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
! S/ b( V0 @6 C9 y! n* J1 o2 D; N( y> 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
/ i4 ~- t9 @" ~7 O0 p> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
% C( `$ {4 Y( v$ [> circled the bases toward home.
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, i9 a) R+ }# ?- ?5 @( u) O3 Y/ H> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
' {3 \! c3 E  i% d. N> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
5 M2 p. c9 E- m. |( g5 u> Shay, run to third!'
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> 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
> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
% W1 a( M: r3 v# i0 |8 Z> game for his team.
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( B3 r1 W+ i6 M- m2 x/ h> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
) m  Q# l1 r# C; L! j3 t2 V1 }> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
  s- D8 M: t# ~" s$ _! l> 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
> 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
% ^% N- x9 v( F" {> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
> 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.
>
# b0 k: g  v' b3 P7 H! N  s> 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
7 v1 ?# W/ F3 D! Q) O> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
) b' g5 r! U0 S> 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
% i$ R8 w/ b1 I> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> 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.
>
5 O/ M# e2 q) v& Z! E> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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$ K0 j0 S. Y0 a: f/ k> May your day, be a Shay Day.