Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
. d1 t" w4 s* T; H% j2 i( |0 t% m> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
1 u2 s  L/ L& h> same choice?
>
) E9 g4 ]& [" W* u6 }6 `, P# i> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
4 U: y& [) o: p7 M4 M3 M> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
' u- e0 L+ Q+ H2 P> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
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! j6 d$ c$ o! W2 [* W> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
, o3 @8 J: p  j> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
+ ]! [! w! P# {8 C  A" l5 ]> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
% i+ ?' v; \  w3 ]3 J> natural order of things in my son?'
>
, l: w( [, D5 W! s2 ]# ^9 Y4 q> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
: N- n$ m! Z( C> 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
8 s) a" i: B+ l4 J* y> 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
* ~6 G7 ]/ [0 y; U> 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,
3 F( O# z" b' z2 ?> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
7 d7 O" X: B: g9 f8 V9 ]> 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
6 I! u9 s% K8 P5 |> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
6 _) ~# v3 X$ K1 e5 ^> 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
5 M& u4 P9 t3 v5 `0 x> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
4 L$ i# ~3 b0 T3 ~' t; O> 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
. [: s1 }+ [( D7 Z- a( W> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
> 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.
5 p5 e, |, w0 }1 p" T" E>
0 l/ w' z6 \4 D7 \" O+ X) T$ Q> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
4 R& }3 Q7 \8 L, F& f( _> 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,
9 \/ A, e7 W# `5 I% O! C4 Q> much less connect with the ball.
8 u0 Z% R5 W7 j9 O" M  O# b5 t> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
2 W4 Y" G& \9 K1 S! |; T2 H+ S> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
! a$ e* o" a; i' ]. L> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
7 l5 L5 G7 G* ~> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
* C4 h! r' J' Z. X$ E* z! _, k> 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.
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5 u1 ?, z" E9 _8 X9 F> 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
* H: Q5 c; J: g# X' |* D> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
( B/ ]& E  _/ @& n7 k/ X> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
- D- L. |, R4 k' _. W$ f8 Q> 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
9 L% N2 t2 x8 ^0 c, {# \0 c0 c> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
( K; I* ^6 s; z3 j> wide-eyed and startled.
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3 A: Y! a) E$ a' _6 x: l> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
6 p; O) d( c2 T& e: e' _" x7 \> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
6 x! n- k1 v+ k9 a> 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
> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
4 v. T: L1 a6 b5 I! C) C; Y# ~8 V* \> 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
> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
2 a  A- m6 x+ p0 x) P9 z> circled the bases toward home.
3 Z9 \) W# I$ V( g) ?+ {>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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5 U- u/ Q( x" m# t( s> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
' ]8 }2 i: U$ J4 ~+ r$ S+ a> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
, ]- u) u$ P7 I9 p0 C>
' f! w' ~6 O4 Z; A> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
& ?3 }5 v8 C4 Z! w% Y5 D> 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
% `2 g- p: Z+ Z6 [" N> game for his team.
>
, y; W& I9 A8 `* v0 t8 C> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
( J# \, {% V9 T) |> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
1 a7 K- g# x& E; |2 J  W> into this world'.
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> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
0 l9 G( e- T2 K3 @+ I> 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
3 ], t5 p) {0 _" l6 {> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
+ Y) Q. x8 [% E& O3 _> 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.
>
> 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
! y+ r! `) m: O) f- H+ Z4 j( q9 i6 s4 o> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
1 @& c1 a6 S# p8 S( B: y' |> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
: i& Z9 F, H3 n. M> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
3 {1 b( @2 q. j* y" g>
" d6 E( @. a$ N> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
3 O7 |% F3 h) z; ]. X% m>
  O6 d% L& k3 h! t2 V& H1 B> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.