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
( k7 ^( R* Q& w9 C3 M, a> 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
> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
* j, Z* {' H1 }5 a- J" g/ p> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
0 c" @$ I$ P; V> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
3 J5 s" Z" x$ y9 k2 M; G* J1 n> 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.
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> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
' W& {" P! l: D& o7 a> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
/ D3 Y5 m; w* W% ~> treat that child.'
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: g8 _  a6 e# T, [8 c6 ?' w3 E> Then he told the following story:
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> 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
/ r2 N  ~& {# g5 D% s, Z! T7 @  f> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
5 g* d8 _; K0 K> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
) s! B6 B* [. B- q6 D8 R> 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
> 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
. c/ m. k( ~0 {- ?# X: |  @> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
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1 g6 Y6 b; ]: I- B6 ~. K% N. c" ?> 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
! n1 G9 v. ]6 R) m6 \> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
! i0 e0 S6 P& I; [0 m> 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
$ W9 V) ~" D! }- R+ w> 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
6 A0 E% a" L, h# S  o> 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
> next at bat.
>
/ v$ P& ?. y/ l, D% v/ n> 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,
> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
, Y0 n& h+ x% k; P. z8 T& A6 S/ H# R> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
1 K/ y+ t  H# x' }' u( d1 T> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
) ]; |4 X" r- Q# z& N4 e> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
% D/ _% ~  _1 R0 r9 {> 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
2 k, D! y8 i# w+ S> right back to the pitcher.
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. z! r( q3 b% g# [2 T> 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
> 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,
- u- a. E- J$ y! @/ |  B5 G, v" T> wide-eyed and startled.
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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
! ~9 T$ L# L, ^8 Q: y# m7 _> 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
> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
% Q8 ~5 W1 w0 S5 @> 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
; {* E0 d7 f7 G3 [4 }> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
: A# N4 z, j/ ~> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
( T  `; a8 u4 I2 o! k* f> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
$ Y2 o0 u  b! E9 W  i> Shay, run to third!'
>
! T$ F, P; g( G# i> 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
% n* v2 S9 O  S8 S  _, z> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
8 T0 `& h; t  G) N8 q  u> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
4 j: g5 L. u4 v1 v# L: q5 o5 W> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
! W# |$ U* r$ e3 L1 ^  Z  y2 B" c% R> into this world'.
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: J# R% Z* A) V" _2 `  R. G3 q, M> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
0 c: T  n$ Q8 x. B5 z: S> 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!
>
> 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
. ^- N: B7 D7 ^; Y> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
6 [5 S2 M- m$ a+ B5 }/ [: T> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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. Q% M+ a) l2 T- y2 \& O> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
+ z+ m( V6 q' p4 G+ u> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
+ u4 ^! l/ [3 C" X3 t> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
4 s$ R8 s' W* E6 Q> 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
' A: ?2 N9 C5 L: ~1 h> 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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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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7 \, n, o: T  w9 _0 d' K% M> You now have two choices:
* a5 m$ x9 w2 ~2 M' R. e> 1. Delete
0 B  O5 T" w! R, Q" Q6 v& s> 2. Forward
>
, i% l& k9 P  L8 _4 Z! p> May your day, be a Shay Day.