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
> same choice?
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> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
' p) j, R# S# j3 s- s1 A% O/ p  I> 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
0 s/ Y8 u2 v6 I& w> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
  i8 m" o% a( U9 {> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
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' b3 j% k* r- O4 @! M9 W> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
/ z4 ~1 c! v1 r* z% D> 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.'
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3 g: m2 F; P& e: {> Then he told the following story:
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) P+ Q7 h8 P& x) H> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
6 S5 ^! g+ H7 f> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
# A! m( q5 u' d/ w  l0 g) y3 ^> 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,
! K/ o2 Q- {0 W* a4 \> 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
: H4 R% a% E2 V> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
3 T" P+ N% F% ?5 O> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
% b7 @+ `8 U" a> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
: b! P. S3 q; p3 C6 L/ C* C> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
3 C# d  A. w- O9 p2 d> 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
> 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
+ U2 b' G' b6 j> 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
9 N9 H+ ]% Q% ]7 x> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
6 t  J( |3 J4 s% \" _% f> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
. {7 A# x* S3 d/ v> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
. a9 g/ l5 _4 P# M: c" @! r  {> next at bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
4 H- j1 _* f4 }0 k% y> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
' u( e2 W5 Q+ ^8 p> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
% @" l2 u0 L% {> 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
* j& h2 |* C3 ?! A> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
0 K! R! o4 ]9 H$ k2 B+ _. ^0 C> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
. H6 X; b3 [5 x> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
. n4 a9 V- Y( T7 w6 n> right back to the pitcher.
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$ M* i7 L+ Q! f> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
0 m4 i. _' R3 Q/ V3 i> 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.
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
  t/ ?( c* [" n; n3 s: ]> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
& }' p% I; r0 r  n) P" i' o> 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,
. e( C! i2 a! l- {> wide-eyed and startled.
>
6 i% v% t: d/ K8 y> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
! _9 V3 H% i* }9 R> 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
1 g' U5 f* e9 k> 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
> circled the bases toward home.
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+ r8 V) R+ |1 @5 r) H0 m: R' s: o7 `> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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) ^$ }6 B& u# a7 f/ `  J> 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!
" n; X: [% ]0 Z4 S# f& g> 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
7 n2 E1 i# R+ @( ?$ A> game for his team.
>
0 ~' a: i* Z' _, t9 A$ g1 l+ w> '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'.
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> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
" p' _% `1 ]. B+ [> 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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" S# r) {- K; R" i' g> 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
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
% T7 \- O3 _" @; b! S> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
" [7 b/ S2 a( Z" ~% p. Y" U> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
7 x5 F+ B  @/ x9 `" ?- y7 {% D> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
2 O& `. h5 @+ r! S> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
$ T; r1 Z" B9 }( K9 D" p> 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
) D# F. H2 U8 n8 `1 F> 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?
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/ I+ I0 p5 f8 R" j' Z> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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! o+ t4 {, \3 H& @" q> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
- Q  |2 P' E$ e; {5 W' Y> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.