Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
( s6 ?/ v* x7 X! K> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
* v) P, N8 j: c; t! R8 |> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
5 _* q: `, f; _* L9 W2 v! M>
% I; u" d1 v  A- e$ y8 ?> 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
> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
  F) N: T0 b- A+ o* t) Q> staff, he offered a question:
>
2 [5 _4 r! N* b% K0 G8 ?1 t> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> 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
& C) @0 u5 \" c4 S  O3 f> natural order of things in my son?'
3 i8 V. I( N, \- R>
7 Q3 T3 I& \+ L8 _4 C! w> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
0 b, s% S/ h% Z1 r' ?) q. U> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
8 n* i, a% k6 X> 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.'
>
, P  F! w6 e, m/ }7 v* @9 X! B> 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
1 M- J) Y) m8 }) Y3 \& j> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
% t) J2 P# R6 V9 R> 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.
* q' z& }8 N8 s6 c9 N2 D>
8 b) @& a+ g! q& @! C> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
9 c4 N3 Z- W" N* I. N/ y8 p0 k0 j> 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
) M7 L4 S6 l; f3 j> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
6 o( `, i3 `0 Q4 j. }$ r% r! c> inning.'
>
2 P. Y% f$ ?$ u> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
- h6 z& S" @% n1 Q% K> 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
' U0 Q) t3 F7 n> 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
: ^6 H7 J5 _" ?) j! c( C( J* u/ q0 L> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
3 [1 P6 r: {/ i# R) H  t2 x) h> 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
3 ?) ?! E: M2 M- M+ A> next at bat.
>
# N, Q+ m. h  K2 _> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
3 F: C, ?0 d# Y% h* J> 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,
( N& P8 X1 B/ [' c% F> much less connect with the ball.
> 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
; z8 s. F. @; s  V4 b. J) g# z4 k> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
  ]2 w8 |2 S. D2 k# \> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
/ M( x1 K0 _+ k3 t" S> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
" f, u4 b8 t& r" b0 D0 i8 ^9 }> right back to the pitcher.
7 ?, D3 \! @- ^, N>
> 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
' J- l/ G; r- M6 u" e$ t& \, a% t" U> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
% b+ F' R# g! \7 T8 s* C3 e& g> 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
> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
$ e4 t* `' j4 u$ |6 Z> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
+ Z7 i# w2 f% U3 h2 k/ o> 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
7 M" w0 ?! l; G4 ^2 W> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
# m; B- @6 i9 ~> 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
> 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'
& f9 Y  q7 i  S* d. 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!
> Shay, run to third!'
8 Y% F$ f* T- _& Q  t>
/ N; J$ T; v% b) K# _, X> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
: Z. h# l+ d0 e+ u8 t6 C> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
5 ?9 v0 v8 X" U% w9 {% Z1 I% P+ B> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
! \1 ?, Z4 [# p> game for his team.
>
9 ]% o& p+ F( L> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
. ~( y2 D) l6 Y, ]1 Y- Z) N> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
3 y% f9 i* P5 E5 x% t> into this world'.
4 U0 Q' L- t' c- T# Z; x( X>
3 c5 P% r5 p/ i; S- q> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
+ r0 t5 Y, w1 u> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
7 v- m/ s2 z  _& c, {> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
3 _$ Z" m5 g8 N>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
  T- _/ [7 c& J* U* Y8 R> 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
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
& J, u0 a" |9 `0 Z6 n$ h4 N>
* m0 I2 Z- y5 t: }" F0 J> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
1 c, }" n) y; ~' K9 z3 o  b> 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
1 u/ k3 U) K3 G> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
1 Z. L' S% v; P* h4 i  c> 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
8 y6 T" @) w5 U/ ]" ~9 P3 a( [6 |  Q> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
2 y( I4 ~2 a. P. ^. n2 U8 n1 U>
' a) E+ n9 {& B! L> A wise man once said every society is judged by
) Z/ E- n; v# g" s' S> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
" ?: K: P% x. m( l" Y  i> You now have two choices:
. u% F2 F1 ^" o# J> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.