Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
$ N" r6 f; E! U> 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
; `; i5 K7 ~/ H) s! z4 X% {& o> 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
- V- W0 N7 b# f$ d* \; |- O> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
- W4 _- _  g' Z( W) f) H" z! H1 Z' f> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
4 g, \0 H2 ?* m> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
2 m8 r+ D+ J4 i+ w+ U  h> 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
+ u. K: d& l. t* C- T> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
9 S& Z4 d- o" o0 R> treat that child.'
>
: l  D; K3 h- Y* ~3 I6 m7 c  X> Then he told the following story:
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) f. x5 O2 m8 o: P& G4 |> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
! o; _/ R1 p9 E# T; D6 E> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
; _, Z5 g, i1 h# p  o4 [> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
  P' @/ I% w4 B+ y5 g. t> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
! u! G! I. E; h1 c4 c' x> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
3 r. ^( J9 M$ x4 q% ~2 B> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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2 S/ k( K$ U* C) k> 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
( C0 M3 u" \5 y3 a> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
: r$ S% o6 x9 J# w( v9 v% U> 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
: e* b% U/ f, n) \: Q> 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
! Q% \7 \) `1 v+ j. |- K1 m' x' d> 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
, l! g2 |  {9 D; U> 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.
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> 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
$ W6 R/ r& P7 o: e3 B( a0 W) G; @> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
& ]3 F# E& T/ V! j> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
* M! a+ {% ^: p  [1 i> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
. r, R' b( u8 b8 R6 D4 l> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
& F0 [1 i4 c2 Y5 i( N( r6 V+ q4 J> 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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' q$ V! N; T2 J+ g# Q> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
9 @  W  K' r) v' K; n> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
6 a5 G! Y$ _0 a! P% F; m2 a> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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: ?- i! c% G+ ]+ O, o> 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
. \9 A1 \; N2 d$ c# `> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
% w" n% W! V2 o+ l2 p* B> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
# W3 t9 \8 Y% O  L> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
/ T& H) P6 m9 b  q7 [9 M> 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
+ B9 K8 q' K& ], Y> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
/ S7 |2 n0 d1 `- W( [> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
* t1 W3 }% R) m: \' w> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
# S" R9 ]- u$ u$ P1 v2 x> 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
+ z# f: O/ P" n" V> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
( p  _# @* Q' \) T0 x> 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
> 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,
! f4 e7 ?+ v8 e0 v& P9 f- k2 y# J> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
& L$ B: o; K) l. R! o> into this world'.
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> 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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# [+ K+ y- b1 S6 i> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
" f; ~7 I' F; h: P  [> 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
% k4 R9 o( m) Z. l+ V% m! o> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
4 k7 e* t4 Q+ Z/ V! s1 u; \> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
2 F# D/ H* x: b4 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
. w' c: f: {  a9 A5 T& }  Q$ b; n, D7 T> '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
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
/ d5 I* U  x& g3 b5 y5 Y> 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
> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
8 |/ `; N; ~* w; `0 f* ]; t3 [> bit colder in the process?
>
> 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
>
+ C! `8 o! K* a" n! B+ n+ g> May your day, be a Shay Day.