Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
3 \, d7 x- N- k0 j9 b  m% j> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
9 V$ k' }- e; K5 Z! Y1 \> same choice?
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6 F0 D0 H* e  i6 v8 ]> 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
! M$ y+ |' Z; \$ N> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
, l+ i7 j. c$ u9 g0 L8 j# x; f; V> staff, he offered a question:
>
! y, G8 z1 l6 I& N/ w; T> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
+ j2 n, f$ G( U1 `4 n! _> 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.
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> 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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> Then he told the following story:
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% I  O! G& z2 s6 a) |9 T> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
7 W3 @& N! S$ z> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
4 C$ e& L' m2 O4 C> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
( T% x4 n7 R; ]+ I- o! N1 m% C> 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
* [6 [3 I+ m  w+ n: S2 A1 S> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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  m( d( s$ |# a. @  i; T- o> 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
> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
( v" {( N5 o" L, n& N> inning.'
>
! B: z; [$ j8 }> 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
) o" o7 s* G7 {* L3 p> 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
% Z! y; j# X8 J9 L> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
& U$ M$ d7 ]! P/ z+ G  y> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
: R% A. x/ n% E8 k> 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,
, d; F1 O6 _3 s> much less connect with the ball.
> 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
, _; O! t, ~1 a' s( f; ], e> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
- o7 Q! c6 Y& G) M* a( w0 {> 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
. ~; z9 `. l/ x- z7 h> right back to the pitcher.
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> 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
2 N  `7 ~" C: T> 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
> 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
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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: u1 F# c4 c  Q( P" D> 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
; Z$ h9 z/ \2 H- O> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
$ P5 c) D$ |" G* e5 F& ?1 z> 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,
% r8 p  |" S  B5 S( I" p' k> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
; Z1 I, A- V4 w4 C> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
0 `8 u5 r8 X1 F. `> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
4 i2 e2 ~8 A3 \% h7 O; s# B> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
1 ?7 Y# r' ~1 b' r3 u2 I, l> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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2 ?/ i: M  B9 F+ l* `' N& g. ?/ w> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
3 q6 D% d9 n3 k* q. N8 I. _" i> 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
8 W' F2 c0 j# \, w4 {; ~8 D4 c" b) G> game for his team.
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> '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
9 e5 K+ D4 U1 q# Z( `& l- Z# g> 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!
>
' O, Q+ r/ |) S  s$ M% L# h& o> 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
) b9 |! u+ w) \' d9 P8 p> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
0 j! y$ |' O2 A* h/ R> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
; c/ H; L3 w* d( Q' C> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
: t8 v% s" ?7 Z6 }> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
+ s, b/ M5 B- }! ~1 z3 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
  i" I0 A, ?' }3 ]4 ~! {. b0 m> 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
> 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
* w& U( h" u  B" u& X1 Z2 [" c> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
4 `4 z2 U) L, D' p# h! F7 R' ~> bit colder in the process?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.