Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
# W) J- W, C- t% D+ K> 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
) D7 v! E- c/ ^$ B8 h. u3 q- @0 ^> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
7 W- J; G! D* i& f6 p4 V7 I> staff, he offered a question:
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! l. S$ A/ S: A) _6 k> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
% T# P( ^4 P# \: e/ v5 `1 {0 f8 s> 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
# r* K6 D5 q% ~" S& I/ Q0 L> natural order of things in my son?'
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( g* ?' n% j2 s( Z/ G' H: Z> The audience was stilled by the query.
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' m+ `) e. R! E7 H' S> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
7 A' M( [. {' l! ]3 P> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
, q+ S" R5 R5 o> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
2 |5 c- m6 f7 i- X. R> 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
/ M2 C' C$ C: t> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
" b7 v& |$ P) n7 h7 n4 @: I> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
  f2 G0 t) y" y> 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
> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
: Z" [" c/ W0 [. ]  r> inning.'
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> 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
5 a- G8 T/ }  n$ W, \> 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 g7 x/ @/ E4 d: R$ A- Y# @> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
% G1 A. E0 x6 T3 X. `- ~> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
  E9 j* w. k( x: |* E> 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
> next at bat.
>
0 |" J* C1 P. d> 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.
7 w" [+ `- P7 E' W; a5 A1 V> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
! w1 j& d) w) X+ r  ~> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
  H! n2 K( N) l4 t/ B; {2 a2 ?' H> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
* U" h: U. s% U> 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.
* N( I4 S1 R& V) ~0 f. `> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
. u/ D; G; z* O* b( f> right back to the pitcher.
>
> 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.
>
7 P: V. H! ^0 E8 X* c- f+ Y> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
9 Y. Q4 I3 q/ S& B> 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,
9 o% S) j; s$ {> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
: ]' ?& P0 d/ D7 J2 A! \7 L7 [/ c> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
) H! t, P/ Z' R! C> 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
6 P( k$ n- d, r5 A2 Q> 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
> 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'
>
' K2 L% p8 t; S6 {% P3 _$ K) G> 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!
> 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
> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
1 Y6 l2 d# v+ h. |. s> game for his team.
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/ t) O, n5 t7 v4 p. P; }> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
; ^! O2 f. U) X5 E, W: ]> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
" y1 g1 J- Z0 K* A  Y* v3 A+ a> 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
/ C) G( K! b% i- _> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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, w1 D9 d. X7 \> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
, t$ q% u! h  G! w> 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
& D  s+ R2 v) l  s> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
, ?4 `/ C# U( W; P' Y# |/ m; ]> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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2 g+ U  `1 a9 {4 o> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
' x+ w9 z" ^' r, ?; ?4 ]; J# N> 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
9 r$ x' T7 l7 [> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
3 u) S1 ^: M& U0 \+ P0 k> 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
> 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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  ?1 I/ D  I' p+ X> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.