Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
- Z" y/ J+ z- o6 |* o$ b# W! [9 Y; q) ~> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
* Z$ `. ?0 M+ X. f> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
- q; `( ]* ^+ n& f> same choice?
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
# b5 o7 L1 L# L. ?$ u) F> 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
. [  g7 J+ e6 f6 b1 L0 g3 ~> staff, he offered a question:
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4 t$ @' Z  l" _> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
! K9 n: {" q/ }  }> 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
* l9 T/ G& t# a0 ^! n5 q: A> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
. P4 v4 m* d  z; M$ P>
> 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.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
* w  a( _6 h" w, b* {  E. g4 [> 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
. f  s' i( V* X+ [4 |, m* U3 o% q> 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
5 f+ k8 Q& X* x: E2 G6 `* E> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
9 d& Z0 I3 p8 B0 j6 ~" Z> 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
) l6 @% _0 ^1 U7 f, m& F/ k> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
+ o+ a- R0 D7 v: C6 n- r, Q; L> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
7 p1 N" A" N$ f( d, H) f/ k% V4 q>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
" h/ R, Z- k/ H% i$ a8 M> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
1 |& z: t6 i' r0 a( ?3 V3 q> 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
. Q$ K. p: i% Q0 m> 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
* Y9 p% m+ R7 ^; I7 e> 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
$ k; ~2 K" R- D9 t: f> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
# ?  d; t3 h8 A% ]1 n! r4 s2 L>
> 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
> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
1 V) Y. q( T$ t) N, j> much less connect with the ball.
5 G* z5 ]+ f2 k  V% s7 }> 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
> 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.
* U# w9 D9 c/ Y8 h> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
' O) k5 A: F8 A. K> right back to the pitcher.
9 I% f1 r: i- O! L>
% B1 `( X  t; U( X3 J> 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
9 W- r2 s% M# N8 i( }/ {; u> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
0 ~6 m2 h8 @' [2 C, `  H* P5 c> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
3 z0 |3 j: N) ?* i> 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
8 S: |' I0 e5 N: K7 i8 M+ V> 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
0 \7 u: J- c% O; S: h> 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
> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
- G4 S( A. k6 M/ x' O+ m0 G1 e> 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,
" E# r0 H! U3 I5 b# F8 G) k$ q$ H> 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
5 d2 x1 F3 N( W* A; E> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
; I+ ~- m% Y. N2 q! G>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
2 Z+ P' {* X# f> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
8 d; ^& q, R$ \9 [# z' Q> Shay, run to third!'
>
> 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
1 ]8 E9 D  u+ l4 c/ L' x> game for his team.
7 [0 f1 a$ J& M4 P/ J9 t3 j>
> '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'.
>
% b4 O6 v! Q! \3 O& }: @3 B, D3 O> 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
% ]+ |' E% |) o0 ~> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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4 t6 h0 l0 \. [& f0 }> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
( }) w' G( ~8 j1 b! m7 A> 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
" N( r0 H+ n7 K8 _* R: X7 ?1 U> 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
% s% k' n: z  ~" y; j  J$ }> 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
( z$ }0 S( s: J> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
+ o  ?5 x; W1 G9 l4 h) u) K> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
6 c, I2 v$ U7 M1 e$ I2 s> 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.
>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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( y+ T1 t, C8 Y8 f* L9 G! c  n> May your day, be a Shay Day.