Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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# L/ @, Y- |' ?: O> 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
> 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
6 \/ P5 `3 \+ W: y+ L) j> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
( v* a' y; M7 P7 U5 T> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
- |; x- D/ y: ]> 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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8 l, J5 D; s! A: b0 A/ b+ b> 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
> treat that child.'
>
' I! o$ ^7 p/ ]$ S$ i> 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
8 I$ f" m* F( b+ k% n> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
3 O& g0 r- r$ R9 T4 E+ ?> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
8 A# g# ]1 L. z0 e> 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
8 H( X+ t% M# B> 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
+ O6 p% B9 X( x$ l> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
- L8 O$ n# C. q. [; O$ g# Y> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
6 N' _7 h% i2 z" z$ c> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
$ ~3 R  l+ a3 y( A+ `> inning.'
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+ J: Z0 C7 w2 J" n; n: Q/ c/ ]> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
/ K9 w4 z! y- l1 `> 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
; y9 {) T0 Y5 m! Z3 E> 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
> 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
> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
8 f. x: T( H+ X- T. c# ~! h- z> next at bat.
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0 x) j3 A/ E5 }+ P: e1 j, A> 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
; ]- M$ [; F* Y# M> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
+ O( |( m( O) g7 a" ^> much less connect with the ball.
, U; C: L7 _. R9 Z, }> 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
> 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
9 }9 g6 F8 _% g0 @5 L# e3 `6 R> 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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. p2 X3 y; P% u7 y> 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
! O5 R' e. D* m: |' k> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
5 p  `- y6 v6 u: o4 G> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
5 `1 M2 K5 e) v  o" i% E> 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
, T4 ~" X7 q7 ~  E* L> 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
> 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
; x& S$ }: ~0 N5 F5 E> 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,
> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
/ l, j6 z. p% s1 V% \> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
7 I$ X9 o. A% s1 u3 E> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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) d/ M) q; X, O8 F/ Z0 ^- f- l5 a# Z> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
# r. ?7 C! {) i" ~$ i4 o> Shay, run to third!'
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& ]8 `3 H% X$ ^8 X( `, q) s> 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
) C: b# t5 Y4 n: S/ F! h, u> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
) O1 W8 U+ I* O9 q3 w. H> game for his team.
>
* W: Z/ o% q. j" P> '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
0 |' V- A. Z" P3 Y. Y+ L- \> into this world'.
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3 D& r- B# E6 j  o> 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
3 R+ c7 c3 z4 A6 G+ m; J> 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
% u! L; Y9 v1 B4 x, @! X> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
1 T, Z5 l# j6 I, |> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
  y5 \, b4 k! {4 Y5 {6 Y) R> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
% `- F6 L: v* v- y9 ^. ^9 J> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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1 F( w0 j8 D- O> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
+ G1 e$ s* S1 h1 K> 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
> 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
- O# u0 G8 J& Q> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
. q; M# g. }  v> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
* g$ F' \- P5 l) F" H" L* ^2 X> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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6 ?( B: D% H, q> May your day, be a Shay Day.