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
  ?. a: T3 P- u7 ^> same choice?
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
. ~  d1 C1 l# [% e6 x: s> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
) O4 i- t2 T% _% P7 ~8 |* G> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
5 T* w% E& ^$ ?7 F" S- o5 ^# J4 Q6 U> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
: T  v% l+ w. a' A+ ?2 w0 W# W) I> natural order of things in my son?'
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$ C1 S- m# I1 ?8 r$ l: w> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
8 C1 [: j3 T9 A8 F9 F& }* E> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
3 T; F3 p2 k9 _" r> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
$ I1 Z  D7 h7 I> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
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) U9 a- y" G0 D, H# ~6 f> 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
- _* w5 q& ?: s  c, q" x> 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.'
>
- g& o# a# S' U' {> 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
/ L' U5 l' S" c( o5 W9 j; Q1 p' [> 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
" \1 a& ]9 q5 @$ D> 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
> 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.
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> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
+ |0 I$ x* p5 r. `> 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,
' r- M8 k7 B6 b( x+ L> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
" n2 v  X. L, \6 ~> 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
6 g4 Z8 O" S$ O, v7 v6 p> 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
> right back to the pitcher.
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& s( N4 K$ V; Z, M( h  j( p> 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
6 w" D6 A5 T# R5 Y3 _2 ^> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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2 @% f7 L' }8 |; d- Y8 b> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
: {0 }: b/ `" T* `$ x, P> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
: ?/ D' R9 \: x! _) W9 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,
& Z4 w3 u9 Q' Q# n> 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
> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
+ ]8 z; H* h' d3 x7 p; _" i> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
8 \3 y  _* q8 F  @> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
( d( r0 x$ s8 h> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
( d/ \. n' z' x> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
4 u9 }. T& Q4 U> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
3 y) t& O$ b2 t8 a6 T- u9 n" h: H> circled the bases toward home.
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* B$ S7 d! F4 G& _> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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> 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!
& m0 H  w' L  ^: T7 x. D> Shay, run to third!'
>
- @6 t, C$ n1 Q* L. o; D> 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
3 \% u0 M9 c' `, K" G> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
0 B3 {+ ~2 ^; ~1 H- |> game for his team.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
# l$ ^7 s7 p* I" }> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
0 M$ Z! F- b7 h5 q' J& y+ }$ l> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
8 D4 {, A* Y7 R7 _/ p. |& m8 J> 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!
>
$ H' H! e# @9 ?8 }" X; Z, p) t> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
' B& k7 B4 Z& p) ~> 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.
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& Z* ]: M" r: N# |. B> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
9 _8 Y2 t3 ~% G3 q> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
2 A' p6 u- r1 G> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
8 c% J$ ^  q0 {; h0 X$ _- N6 s* l> 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
- h$ a3 c3 N9 K> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
8 y4 E, u/ O( ^$ S* D7 U> 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
% Z( E! C3 M( u" k  ^> bit colder in the process?
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) z. J& l9 b9 q4 K6 m3 v9 S> A wise man once said every society is judged by
4 A+ ]8 }' s7 o5 R> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
/ Q) A. J7 i8 U0 `& H  e> 1. Delete
; r# |' |: ^; `, Y( e! [3 {> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.