Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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4 O3 m& s; O. H$ T> 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
& m& E" `5 [4 C0 ^$ f* B' R5 w& }> 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
! J& m! m$ G7 i9 ^, @' v; O* B> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
$ F9 ], x1 S" C" d, X- s: \> staff, he offered a question:
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+ T; N# Y2 K& A- F0 l# }> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
: g) d. y4 ?3 Q> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
9 r/ f: J: t, H. a> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> 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
4 P$ G+ h. K6 R> treat that child.'
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) @+ ]" s; i) D' C3 `$ L> Then he told the following story:
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5 K  @: t- J! f; l% B5 E+ o, H> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
  V$ S0 T/ {# ?/ ?9 R> 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
8 Y8 S5 w) ~$ a0 M6 n; R> 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
( Q1 v! x2 o8 ?0 W! i1 e1 F> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
! M- A$ [4 U; D4 q5 G> 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
! p! L- |# Z6 @1 z> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
# }8 P2 a7 c. {# V> 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
5 k$ w1 e+ m5 S2 g6 e! }> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
7 d& ]$ j! E' }8 v3 ~, M' J> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
( J1 c; G; I& B' q" x> 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
( A# a( Q0 k$ W/ ]> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
4 _7 G0 u5 s% o- j, v> 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
; y0 @; u" B7 _) Z9 N  ~7 e& @> next at bat.
>
7 _* {! F. k) z& a" d8 D> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
, E. `6 _5 ]4 u. W4 k) w; N# c> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
3 a# G3 \3 O9 y> 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
> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
$ ?" K' h8 j; a  L- j> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
# ^) V  g! N3 \6 z) L% g, o> 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
+ ~; f# i+ Y) j" v> right back to the pitcher.
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( }- p8 n, y* H3 {4 b2 J2 c0 L$ I- Z% R> 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
* Q2 }5 b8 b; I7 l8 ~> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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6 Z& B9 T4 D0 I+ W+ |# a8 B> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
2 U! J. r* E/ c4 O> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
6 q- v/ w; v) b' R% r7 E> 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,
6 i/ ~2 P9 l. K. k, L: d  P0 l$ Q> wide-eyed and startled.
>
  D7 H7 N' F# r4 p* n> 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
* \( |# M( D2 d  O% p> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
# a. W% K$ k8 N; G, U) }6 r2 ?> 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
' w. t3 X+ `: ]4 a3 J> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
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> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
! w2 A6 a4 U. t% C4 @% X5 T) G> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
6 r- x( T" S7 d) V+ P, @, n> Shay, run to third!'
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> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
0 l$ q8 W% B) l" Q  m7 O# E3 A, `> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
% U$ r: g( L- N  h: p# S/ r; _& h> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
>
> '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'.
>
> 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!
>
/ Y9 D7 Q9 Q6 t) w/ f* D! z> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
# H7 h& H6 Z+ T1 H5 D> 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
' _. `  @' P  `> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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/ K8 n; q* l8 Y6 B, t8 g> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
> 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
' Z' _* G) ?* Y+ P: t# G/ q* Q7 A# a> 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
7 M1 j0 t0 ?1 z2 N# U> 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
) Z7 j( H$ t  K9 ]9 @> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
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- e5 k0 T$ q7 ?, B$ o> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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/ \% z# j, n" f2 B( c$ D> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
% d: x" h, T6 G7 e, I& M> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.