Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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! W, j! ~% g: m> 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
/ [( E9 y9 ^( u4 M> same choice?
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
1 f- l9 I. G6 V4 c* a+ H  C> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
# ^; e! o! J0 D& L" H; X/ H7 ^> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
: ~7 _) C" }$ ~1 j> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
/ F9 a9 `* _& _3 ^* p> natural order of things in my son?'
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> The audience was stilled by the query.
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4 u9 k1 ~, H  |" U$ n, M> 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
, s( {* N2 J% E+ ]6 P; {5 w1 `> treat that child.'
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5 _2 L. r1 h) c+ a; A; W> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
9 V6 x+ O  q4 R4 x4 s( [5 ]# E> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
% r, z8 L  @0 X" u; V) q* ]) c> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
  z9 I* G6 f( Z1 ]( u. K9 `, L> 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
> 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
% J. a6 k( B% k! i& A6 \> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
7 B3 ?* m( G6 \" V2 s) I5 |> 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
> 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
  T  H5 C4 {; a' r4 n> 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
0 t) e; g+ j! i8 L, Y  }* d> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
2 r  M# {* a0 s> 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
$ i1 m/ U, n# l4 F> 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.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
/ u8 B( M0 S: E/ A> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
4 }9 g' [, w0 T> 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
' ?2 \3 w9 C/ x$ j! S> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
7 H+ f, d- X! f: u> 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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> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
# X7 c* T7 x6 q- D9 A2 r> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
( n; y& l; n+ [' j( |0 C> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
/ r: o- T! d- c, P5 [> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
6 g6 L7 s2 }2 ]) u> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
; Z; i# e* W4 f* V# D+ B2 r7 p6 I> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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  X/ a% _4 h! D9 \+ \5 C# Q> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
+ `0 E! O! `5 @# t4 G. K0 n, _> 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
" p, Y. q* A/ ]: o/ O> 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
, }% \1 i; l2 ^  S# N* W% I> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
" @3 Q7 B/ J9 k; c: F> 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
> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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+ d; a% E8 u0 f6 ?. V> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
. G2 Q: E7 j% R' e7 m( Q/ k% t" D> 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
# D) f9 x+ y( G> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
0 r! K4 A- A% f% g- y) F7 A> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
4 i6 d6 Y+ N9 Y6 w) U> into this world'.
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# w: N& `& O6 v  O# f> 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
6 X8 i/ @5 `, z* g" _> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
  D" O0 n" m# r; b- S1 }0 m> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
: d; g! @; R5 h> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
6 g+ j5 B- p4 p> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
+ {. o9 Z" ]: R  H- _* B! g" ~) o& F& \1 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
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
2 Z$ m1 O! `# I4 b5 F# T# D> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
8 v4 H  E, t  `" C- A3 u8 m> 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?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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4 a0 n0 b0 m; T% ], g> You now have two choices:
8 y0 |6 w, V1 ~9 ^> 1. Delete
  d' P& {: r  n  B# B> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.