Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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! n- d1 {6 I4 h$ S2 ~> 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
; o7 N7 Z5 [, R7 V' _5 n> same choice?
>
> 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
- @) G. F! A( w/ ^6 V* a> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
8 L* J  J7 J' {3 C/ F6 U> staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> 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?'
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> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
+ _  B7 J% P/ G( H> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
+ s7 U" U  c4 a! E& ^$ G# ^( F$ n> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
8 L3 i- U! J! [+ J( Y> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
>
> 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
> 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.
>
) i( @/ p* v* q7 Z! T> 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
. l. t3 d- c" `* v0 C/ x+ g; `3 {. F7 {> inning.'
>
' s, v) K0 }  O$ h> 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
6 h$ q) j) p, h+ l> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
  |3 I8 u1 @' F' G> 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
- z3 x# `% v" s0 H' \' }> 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
0 v" V2 X$ Y. D( {; @6 W> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
. }# L, E6 g# G% e# |7 M> 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
; p% o9 O9 B" R5 ^- R8 f> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
3 z4 j% W, D3 i& @> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
1 w' ~  c' B+ F8 V8 Z/ z> 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
> 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
> right back to the pitcher.
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# g! L. w" m' S> 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
1 O: ]2 \: C0 l! P/ y> 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 k6 H, f0 W1 d) u> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
; J9 e5 `  K' g4 e+ A> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
' ^& u/ M; q" C5 w7 c! Y6 I' j, f3 B2 I> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
) i7 R0 v' O# D. o: K> wide-eyed and startled.
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) g3 z; m4 z  s0 v. [" w1 `> 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
> 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
> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
" S/ G) x5 s2 I) J> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
- ?( z" `4 h( r5 p/ F> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
/ Y. ^, m( @8 c, w- ?> circled the bases toward home.
>
: g2 T0 n. O! F* |0 g' Y6 F9 Q% v> 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
. l3 l: Z$ ]9 w# D/ \; ]/ B> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
3 V; V8 @* F8 V0 I9 p> Shay, run to third!'
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> 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
$ v/ t, {, u$ h2 e# F3 h# Q> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
' q7 F- V+ h4 i1 q' c0 T> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
; l" d1 _: g$ k> 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!
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> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
) w  f$ B7 v! |- K> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
. @' t9 y# e/ D3 |9 E> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
" Z+ _& c0 n" n1 E, q+ }& L+ V6 H/ X> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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> 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
> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
. b" a% V6 n) Q2 ^> 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
% K5 i3 X8 X: c> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
4 o( U; G+ B) G7 K> 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:
; `+ \- W0 L& l& i$ u% Z> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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$ l+ c3 ~+ p! z/ y' B+ B  g9 k> May your day, be a Shay Day.