Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> 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
' G, m, k1 `5 |  ]> same choice?
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
0 [2 p1 \& O2 L. j. W& i> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
  R8 }$ M* k6 L  u2 d> 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
. I# j% d, `, r- a4 Z1 i; ^> 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?'
; v  F4 g/ R% @" y1 ~3 Q* E>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
5 `# M5 c1 [9 A5 T& V3 X7 c>
> 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
/ [, N0 X. M: ?& l> treat that child.'
>
0 [9 N6 ^9 r+ _2 O5 E9 e( Q4 l> Then he told the following story:
% i2 l3 K  D4 i6 a>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
' R: g' s0 p! ]' k> 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,
) J4 N7 I* C8 x, Y" u> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
% D( W2 e& X% Y% M0 u6 |> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
; a# \6 s- t3 v2 }+ h' h3 \) d>
9 P& W; Q# O6 j> 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
4 p  S) }) F8 K5 W# R> inning.'
>
> 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
; [: `! @4 r! X% e. v1 K# d1 S5 Q> 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
> 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
8 t$ S5 F3 e, U- O7 Y& X> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
+ H3 O# k7 y7 Z> next at bat.
4 N$ X  b. r3 X>
- q1 e% C6 c' @0 T> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
+ g4 p. I0 H" [) U1 W& E> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
( T6 b1 @2 a; a& l) M6 b> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
8 @. S. P& n* z: L> 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
% k. p! Q; W+ Q! {& H8 p0 G> 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.
>
4 a! Q# ^! M6 ~6 p> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
$ K; N/ g# N1 {9 m" v/ g8 F( T  S> 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.
8 U% [- ~: K. m1 N/ i$ S>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
+ d/ k6 f6 P% h9 w/ `; F* n) g; ~, Y> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
4 h2 G$ L6 U9 h) S$ B. Q> 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,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
: C7 R2 }  k  w; j2 Z  h> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
4 X1 u: \3 }/ \# x( c$ z; H> 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
; u8 p, ?& p4 U; S: Y> 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,
( n+ d+ S& a& `$ ?> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
) M5 c9 {# i5 s> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
, r1 w2 a( r; r0 u1 u> circled the bases toward home.
, S0 @* t- p1 ~8 U>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
$ _) t# k' Z9 Y! T6 J> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
7 q0 k* z$ n$ X> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
7 k, C% Y* c; e1 s* ^* ?>
5 _* P/ A5 u6 u2 m1 t  r  Q! N> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
- R9 E- J/ w8 L. h3 [( i2 l> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
6 Q/ ?! Z. q. b& f# L1 j5 s: _5 O> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
2 }2 s. B, q$ v1 [7 O1 {1 D> game for his team.
>
> '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
> into this world'.
>
7 D2 D3 N( c) O" g4 W> 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
$ g% g) ]0 @( r# U$ w> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
, _; g2 w# S. G% h* a> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
3 N  w! J  f$ M# {5 d. n* z; ~" q> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
1 l2 v4 H# a; E5 l/ z> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
3 `4 h. [* h7 d" q; }> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
, t3 e0 c# }& p( }5 H8 A+ }> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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! b# A4 e! F, G/ @7 ~; R0 e4 P# f" U2 |> 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
/ t& G) X% |0 p> 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
, b% L5 r, T8 R0 o  _0 h> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
/ w1 w7 o2 [7 T' s. \( F/ ^9 \1 H* J> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
3 N0 P' k' z; s+ x3 d> bit colder in the process?
>
+ o$ E7 S; y: ~3 R> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
( z+ S  R. {, Y: v" h9 W>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
  x( g2 k! g+ a; m>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.