Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
. R& }$ r1 U- c0 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,
/ h1 I) A, }/ }9 u( L9 ~> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
. J8 o" W3 w8 w, |9 R> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
5 n" S( [' _: D> 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
- l9 j* y! v" N9 M> natural order of things in my son?'
: X9 y  o8 C2 r' [" l, \>
9 f9 w6 Z) x5 e0 k  A& a5 Q" J! v> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
3 M" C% x7 H* b0 Q" G> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
0 S8 r9 V. b% a* v- ?/ @> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
$ L# N: ?- h. C& @> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
1 t! B) l; z; b/ w> treat that child.'
& O4 _0 i! j/ h) D# }0 O- L>
> 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
- k2 V6 {2 W4 ?> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
9 W' i  g% m; ?# F> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
/ `& h/ m1 b  {) ~( I* v7 Q>
> 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
' e- \3 }# F* t% A> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
7 R* @% S+ H* ~; W3 u' |" G3 f- u>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
" |# ^- b5 t  _> 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
> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
% U: d" E0 B7 Y% [> 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
! O0 Z2 ~9 h- b' s$ p> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
, \! E! y& C, L& u> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
+ W9 q4 [* D- _9 |& c> next at bat.
: X6 n/ v' C7 O. [+ f/ c/ M9 M) o>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
  d: _' t8 e4 X  O> 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.
  `4 `" ~$ ]7 q+ y2 m4 w> 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
0 f! D( p: ~: l& p; Y: g> 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
8 A2 O2 C/ X  W; P> 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.
7 \: |9 U0 m8 ]' D: d$ a>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
. t  B" l1 e- e& U- T> 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.
% V* Q& R: o) M" W! o>
1 ?. \5 O' c' P5 D) R) n> 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
0 p# b# g0 ~- O> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
9 [% v3 I7 n' v> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
  I# W+ ~2 O6 i>
% _2 V  Z+ k% u> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
7 W  `+ x7 ~+ c# Q3 G" G1 c> 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,
& J! G9 M1 S7 E/ p) ]2 i> 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.
* ]7 E  q  Q: M# S( {, k+ W>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
9 g5 w# p/ R% G> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
8 y) K% h0 `, Y! n- C0 N2 k0 d> Shay, run to third!'
>
$ d" {' D" ?! s1 v> 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.
; N$ I+ H, X0 E3 I/ K6 t( V>
: y" j; @- g# o7 N, d2 r> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
9 k3 l  O# w9 P6 u4 i> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
# Z) _  e. Y! O; c. t5 w>
. g2 S- T5 O" L2 f6 o& u$ h> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
9 D8 a& ^' P1 ~0 Y+ u0 Q> 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!
>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
% w& _& p0 ~3 y8 p8 [0 U> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
) p) l8 s! ]4 ]8 y" ?> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
- X# }8 a% w- y/ M> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
, l) R$ {& [" m* K+ ^* v> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
> 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
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
* T3 W% z7 u& o9 {0 p> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
6 G5 t  c: `7 P. H> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
8 F6 \5 F1 U" R( h0 D/ Z> bit colder in the process?
/ x% f1 k, g8 S" L; A, C>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
" n$ i6 j0 J4 j" C> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
. o- w3 b. |1 Y0 K$ m>
> You now have two choices:
; x, S$ k* i. ^3 I+ @( S> 1. Delete
4 [. p& b9 `7 V) v> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.