Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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3 ]  ~* L# D" R7 c7 _8 C* l> 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
> same choice?
>
6 @4 U, z' o9 _! L+ V+ S- X. ?> 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
; B% i+ t4 z& d& i$ V> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
+ e! h$ j: W3 q8 _5 l9 \> '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
0 E. ?! m  m6 B# [2 L> natural order of things in my son?'
>
& Z1 a3 z" D! J1 o> The audience was stilled by the query.
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1 g- Q$ k- g2 c$ v: g, F" M' j! J> 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
> 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
$ }7 {/ ]4 Z0 z* S, D! |( w> 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
5 R4 L% F' X- L2 d> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
/ l5 b, ~0 }" M5 c# c3 ~> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
# @( S* j- M9 z' R/ Z> 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
. z1 t/ y# O9 v( n; T; r> 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
) N& W) b5 B: d' `3 o1 P& Y4 n> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
2 B+ f5 d1 L3 `8 \" k/ V6 l> 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
> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
  ]1 S; b( t1 t& J> 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
5 C, [9 t8 A6 W1 ?> next at bat.
>
% p) U: d9 X) M! T2 {> 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
1 q* N* z- Q+ `, K* E7 v" T> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
& D) c+ n# f. _# }> 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
1 G- ~& Y2 Y/ ~8 ?. P: Z> 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.
> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
9 W3 ?. K& l6 R5 K, N9 ^/ y> 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.
>
' [) B- v; z+ U& f3 N- t> 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
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
8 s) [# k; b8 q: r$ o* n> wide-eyed and startled.
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> 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 ^! z4 @2 a7 R" H) B5 E8 r( `5 k> 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
1 H$ \% p8 k+ 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,
/ h: X" \6 c, ]& V> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
7 q0 z: b* x7 l2 ~> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
+ n; b! L" f: |! z2 Y9 k> circled the bases toward home.
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! v  H' q. k1 o( c* _> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> 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!
0 l; G2 }" v! z> Shay, run to third!'
>
0 x4 l( x/ s6 q5 i/ N3 c% J* X> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
+ l7 B- P, ?% r, e6 L( c# p! |> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
, ]4 y! b( P$ I1 A> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
  ]2 f  x7 f  ~5 w- Z3 a! q" L& i2 Z> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
' I9 r! J6 b* _& W2 Z! z' O, k> 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!
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> 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
> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
1 e. H; O! Z4 j> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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- t' ?4 N6 X  g" g( ~, ]> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
( X% N* O+ u. Y) o# N> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
/ W, a' h6 N7 `8 t7 T* g> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
$ ^& ^1 v# ^- _) }0 X> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
9 p9 k) c$ W9 v$ l> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
( m4 p4 c  O1 P$ ?# O' T% B7 t5 x> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
) ]# X, |) u" |1 {> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
$ @; _, F- v: G; G. p7 W1 F: ^> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
$ J5 C  |6 i* k& I! v& C> bit colder in the process?
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. K1 |  e) _" w7 V# I> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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) l3 V5 q" ~5 K; e5 N> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
$ i1 E0 l! ]8 \, r> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.