Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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9 n  m3 o; c+ g& _; P5 R& E> 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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+ I2 t8 r* X( W; u5 c> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
8 _; D$ u5 @9 r; E> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
) A+ v9 A$ y* Z* J/ r> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
) Q2 G4 i2 [: U9 \! H1 G& I> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
( l1 C  L, S6 Y$ R" W> 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
% q: V" D8 `+ I% h! C) \+ @> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
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> 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
- m1 v! u, x, m* g  z/ P6 Y4 X> 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
  W  r# ^) C) M, k> 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.
>
- V- V% K1 I- N2 [& n> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
$ Z& u5 c+ ?; l6 _* @> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
! u/ W5 k! A1 L9 K> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
! R. }$ x' C. ?8 @1 j> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
( @- G+ ]9 u* Y4 ~& ]> 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
- L7 s, m" U) P9 ~2 \( I% X> 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
> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
; s- L' A. U$ Q> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
: s: L; P  t. e* _) R> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
- f9 X3 h. C; z( f5 T! k> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
) d5 t9 e6 v6 ~  `. b> 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.
>
7 ]% n& O1 M- ]- U> 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
5 b6 h6 [( T; R5 O5 \2 y> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
; q3 R0 b. O8 _/ u, W3 ~> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
; ^- Y3 l# x6 }( W5 W> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
2 p' \0 u  E! X( e3 ^1 o  ?> 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
/ \' z. j* h! ?> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
1 j& r$ c- p; ^1 s> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
: `& V* x, ^9 H% G3 [> right back to the pitcher.
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- R8 p  g; a1 @! h> 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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* W  E- \! T% d8 R! s$ ]$ }> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
+ }! w( d" P! R! K> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
/ J0 g& x9 v  x" |$ Q> 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,
, |! l$ s) s1 t4 e5 ~$ u8 Z> wide-eyed and startled.
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% J1 z% ?- [+ \! H) W> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
5 t  C( C* ?" j5 x> 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
$ w& R$ X" R% `> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
  R1 k$ g# n3 c  \> 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,
> 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
) U' r7 _/ z  V8 i' \# h> circled the bases toward home.
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> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
" ]7 t& m0 y% h! q8 F0 S> 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!
> Shay, run to third!'
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> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
+ O* K8 S( `% D- U' f> 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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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
" v8 o0 a- k  @3 y# k> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
> 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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, }5 I- m$ z& J, ~7 S; T: M3 Q6 i> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
0 K1 x! P0 C' d: R9 \/ U> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
4 n% q% U, \& e2 c% a> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
" C2 S5 v6 j" ]: x> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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> 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
> 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.
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> You now have two choices:
4 s+ s9 j* ?" N7 j: f+ E> 1. Delete
4 O; h9 V# d% `' {, U9 ^; V7 B2 N> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.