Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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3 W" J2 @# Y6 [> 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?
>
! j7 z& ]3 R9 B> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
7 ~2 A) V9 x/ c( `0 z, g, h, f> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
: R; O6 `2 y% D, W9 K3 e8 q% }! D) q> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
2 J. M9 J' c5 K% b7 C8 J> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
! }& |+ }; Z9 H> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
% \9 |. u8 D# p( l0 a> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
4 Q. h3 x" a' [> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
2 [' ?4 p$ t, o2 a$ V! Z! ^, B> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
6 L0 L0 G8 z. ]; r# r> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
>
) Z& r7 x* F6 ]# i> 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,
" G. q9 ~: M, H, S> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
: m9 ^) }* W" u( a" d> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> 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.'
  `9 D* x- ~: X4 y' e6 C>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
; V& A" F! K! |( p- Y, W$ Z> 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
3 [# g7 j& r4 _) H> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
/ K, b# W/ x8 D- F. a> 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
+ w7 ^" i' S! [9 Y5 @> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
$ z6 y: \9 p* x. E" t> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
9 \. m- r3 }) G5 R4 W1 ]) |> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
9 {3 X5 Z" }; r, {- }; t> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
. @/ |* G1 Y3 V8 m1 L8 M' J+ C# }> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
, y3 C2 C# u( q' X6 k  a! G' S> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
* F, i4 u) W% s5 r& W1 m> 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
> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
1 U; j9 t- j% s9 @1 j> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
. V/ g+ y6 k, J( [8 q- ]> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
3 E( h! x7 D0 x/ C- f: R( h> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> 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.
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> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
6 K. B4 H2 U7 b% r6 Y> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
+ m% B0 \, j' _% f; J> 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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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
# w; @7 t% e9 U: W> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
; x* D+ Z2 Y! D$ X. x% d' }5 ]7 L> 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,
2 B6 c( V; e$ t> 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.
>
  Y# ]2 l( B5 e( G$ N> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
5 M; o- |" c  D, @" Z2 s$ C> 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!
9 A9 k9 l/ Q% T, e! ~' F* n+ b> 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
> game for his team.
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# V7 C$ Y& o) d+ C# ~% J3 o9 i. z' x> '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'.
>
, [, I3 z9 R6 v! F> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
) n: w+ ~! T4 J- m3 e> 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
> 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
9 R8 c! q% j2 ?$ i> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
  t& f4 X" g. j- \" D1 b) [> 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
5 c0 g( v5 J7 v7 z* h& a> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
. d/ ~9 m) |5 h+ Y$ |# e> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
( m- C2 u6 U) ]  k> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
* q. ^: Z8 N9 `  g; j> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
2 G" Y7 e  ^& e/ a> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
8 W$ s/ g' `$ M! D) \! o> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
( k9 {& {+ _+ W: e4 U. C5 d> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.