Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
" K2 f7 w! H9 P9 n; ?> 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,
2 J/ ~' F, B1 o. L9 v: }6 L- K" c> 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
0 s, i9 Q0 t2 l1 ]. w6 _1 S> staff, he offered a question:
>
" y  h/ _- I0 w7 j> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
6 a3 i2 l8 A( j' G5 Z9 t( q6 a  a; r4 v> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
) T, W+ Y5 S5 c! N, Y> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
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> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
+ i8 S5 \' y) x> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
! m. d, D5 y  G/ Z2 f> 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:
>
" [% h$ r: A$ f7 ~0 G) O0 N> 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
5 Y  _" i: ~9 Z4 D& K' V7 n> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
3 h/ B; W, |/ O* _' o* A/ f  v> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
) D9 N' h1 n$ N7 W  N* r( C+ U> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> 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
> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
3 z1 h, D! c! O+ r2 q> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
( K  j; v; n8 j* d; i9 F> 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
> 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
& F- T5 A8 e1 N( m! q& O5 w> 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
> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
5 f- H" O1 v4 i3 ?8 J2 K6 T> next at bat.
>
> 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
9 u& m$ v; m+ f7 @7 N$ K> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
+ c& b$ R" }$ F% h> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
7 ^3 p8 S; e( w  D> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
! D- C/ O( [0 }) 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
> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
* x7 J# }' Z3 z> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
# p- i5 A. s2 Y" I- z/ u> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
, }" {& f. x: I6 U> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
# b. [& z! k7 X$ J7 \$ J> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
> 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
" }! L2 S( T) [& V) {! W$ c> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
; ]7 S) i2 u* ]6 z6 H5 @> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
, [, i; P" `  O$ l> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
3 U- A" \, P* z9 g0 ^7 j> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
( ^- B. T2 X1 o1 y" Y> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
, R1 ?5 e9 y8 p5 c& T4 _; u$ M> 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.
>
6 z; Q8 }0 _: V! [5 K1 {4 I> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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2 _1 b/ p* M% d) a! R2 L1 M> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
: Y+ @3 s( t' {> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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9 @% l& ~2 X) j8 T( ?% W> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
9 b$ q$ y1 i7 \; B$ m> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
1 D* M3 k% c: g; l! `> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
; @/ m" x! W. R) P: A0 j3 B. |( @> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
' x* o) Z7 |: C> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
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4 |2 O+ R' C4 N' R9 \> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
/ ^4 m* `# i  n> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
- `) W9 f! E6 q3 w& I1 h> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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. l  R# R9 H: u0 d# H4 [> 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
6 @, g9 f1 G9 J. `# b3 Z> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
8 W, O( ]% P8 Q/ _> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
* }" |' I- {2 l3 V  ^  ^  W9 A# k> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
6 H- T4 w& t! d1 r& _+ p5 _2 r7 t> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
/ `3 S1 C, Z) C, C0 K, Z1 D3 B8 a> 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
- ~; w; s9 y8 _* y# e- u* j> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
$ Q; c  n( C8 d> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
5 l5 o+ p4 _( h1 w4 u  q> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
>
# r) M6 z% I9 V- S* V0 T2 m, D> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
7 Y7 X$ Q6 o0 Z' W! I5 o> 1. Delete
) w# y$ _' U1 w6 X+ f8 S, B+ X" J- P0 O  @> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.