Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
9 i* J1 r; v; o' m> 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?
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
) |# u0 r5 b1 R9 m; C4 A> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
# p& ^- f& q6 K$ f" ^* ?* g> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
0 q3 {( l" Q& f> staff, he offered a question:
$ g* n  R5 t9 ^; ~+ z>
+ M/ c6 M3 M5 j6 G/ B# q, ~> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
5 |& A9 Z+ e9 N* ]! h> 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
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
- `( j7 |" ^( _> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
8 Y: t+ e; v+ e9 P> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
+ n& r9 y) `/ i% K$ v2 A/ B6 I' m$ j9 _> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
4 Q6 E( V% E2 U1 j% L> treat that child.'
- a# R! W; n5 R, ?) ~3 j1 S/ q>
> Then he told the following story:
7 p4 e1 [, m. y( u2 c8 |9 u( w* p>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
8 ?& o& \" d6 B" T> 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.
>
2 X/ U& ?1 k- Q% P. r7 Z> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
, r# o/ ~, r9 P4 ~& E> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
9 |* ?, Q2 W( ]5 [% M6 c> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
9 [/ r. I" }- u( s5 x" ^* g> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
3 `7 q: e5 \$ H/ J> 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
> 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
2 m* L! N: O: V2 O! @> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
/ x! u2 X- Z/ R  N) y1 v0 N% n8 K> next at bat.
/ {, C* l! D4 R2 i/ f>
" Z$ ]5 d2 ]& M) q5 \, V7 }> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
# P! j' y" c5 r7 b> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
# O6 a) N. N7 x/ T4 z> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
" Z- u6 X3 {: x- [* {- F5 e  U; B* z' c> much less connect with the ball.
7 R4 X# \0 u4 R- y( m( t> 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
8 ]8 }. X( a. P/ }> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
) t) K4 g% X. h3 F> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
( U& Z  ~/ x# z/ E9 s. i5 P; Q- x>
: F" l9 Y: G0 X3 t> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
$ m- o2 `# o5 u3 F6 t( M> 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
7 R  [* f: p4 O. w" 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 \; e8 [0 ]# X  U: l> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
: s  m" M8 R+ e4 a4 W4 {0 H> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
: S; P2 t0 R5 C> 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
4 X3 r& ]' a5 f' K& Y> 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
% t! r0 }+ P  {  |1 P& B> circled the bases toward home.
9 w. d# O( z, O0 n9 N" q>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
8 @1 u. O& a$ D/ B5 H% Z2 K>
, S( Q6 [  c( w% E! `> 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!'
>
> 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
6 A. b! v0 F  G, F7 r' M0 q6 G9 |> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
  s& `$ R8 Y; B6 x* i# e>
" r$ ^, L3 e$ `- g' n! ]/ A> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
) s2 e% W4 G  m> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
/ X( {2 R# K5 j>
4 x) M$ s7 B# {, z. S> 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!
; L8 D5 _% R9 z! K" ^/ d>
> 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
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
0 V3 g3 e2 e# G; ~- ^+ s) s  p>
# n* z5 m4 _' A& }- p5 C7 H+ M6 X' c> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
7 U' X5 i8 o2 {5 c, C/ a5 Q> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
* F$ a3 c. H& z+ M$ R> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
' T1 C% j9 w6 `& V: ~6 P0 w5 k> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
. @+ f! p  U1 y/ p0 [> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
2 E5 `) Q% i7 `- ^> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
( N0 n0 T" K' |+ N( b1 n  G  V2 ^> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
" K# G* r# Q: f1 y) L9 X+ W5 d: s> bit colder in the process?
>
, k3 _# q4 x( |4 t% E- ?> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
: h* G" b! b# @5 z3 i* u: V> You now have two choices:
$ L$ q0 D2 _8 T) _> 1. Delete
$ R% w4 x! X( z1 a> 2. Forward
0 q; J" \0 A+ L0 l>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.