Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
, v7 ~5 ~6 Z, D> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
" l: {  R  C& d> same choice?
0 X. v0 r) x: z+ R2 ?+ C4 U>
> 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
% C# z9 |  s& G> 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
) v1 F$ f' s7 `. M, M) r, S> 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?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
, S' P& _  U, d> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
% q; }& C- p: W# g> 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
> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
# A( u+ L2 I! ?, J6 B> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
$ l  T7 [' A+ A4 f5 g7 U0 n> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
7 j/ I8 l/ A& g) \( Z1 t3 Q# z6 m> 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
$ ~* q: `4 i) m9 K% v> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
- h  n& v. m) D% ?> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
& G+ F6 X  S, c" G9 Y' g> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
! P% j, h* N8 B& E" W> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
; d6 N- \1 i1 Z$ P" k> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
: K2 r7 Z$ ?5 G5 ]9 d7 W+ @> 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
0 l  B8 x" l# I0 A% A> 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
3 I) x: T. W& n! q( d> 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
> next at bat.
>
6 ^- T" D( p9 Q) ]. S1 }! C" H> 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
> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
6 L, J4 j& x# H' J( L> much less connect with the ball.
* e) g3 W3 w: S) P5 U& c> 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
  A. A2 Y2 e) Z7 O> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
% A$ Q, F$ h$ e, ?9 p> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
" S" d1 |" @4 D> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
/ c+ F) N- V/ S# C/ i8 g> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
& x. ?2 l+ {. D# K3 j4 v4 r8 v, U>
1 w' o- v& a8 ^% U2 J! a> 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
" u1 Q( N  ^" A; i% u! p" k> out and that would have been the end of the game.
- ^$ K3 J) }2 e; v+ u# f! k>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
$ n" Q+ [2 ~7 V> 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
8 u) f) a3 H  j> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
7 K3 U" d* U; N0 [! x3 t1 B>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
  u( I# s+ B$ r; a4 m7 h> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
  N% K% ~: Q, y1 @+ ?1 }+ j2 o2 P> 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
0 ]& r# ?" @$ e9 U8 Z; O+ w> 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
  T1 S. F/ @7 C9 W$ Q6 L- U9 w/ ?> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
# t+ _% w. U6 {2 Z6 f/ L% m> circled the bases toward home.
>
; R2 F1 j. e1 d3 w4 |( A/ V7 x> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
2 n# F- Q  G1 Q! p5 Q. S" P> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
: L: o' J6 o) w2 K+ E3 o$ g>
  g5 \2 k; F4 g: c$ C> 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
, k: w$ [- a! c) K- l+ V3 P> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
& z; l% p7 M$ ~, ^/ s6 F0 p> game for his team.
) V6 v9 `: A( b+ ]& B>
> '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'.
2 T4 |6 ]# m' y) @' v( ^1 e7 u>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
$ ^4 `+ A" ?! @( S9 j> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
/ v6 h( Y7 L3 T6 X- p> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
' Z0 q0 t' V2 z. s8 p% r>
5 [2 t% ]" m, V8 H0 s9 l9 S> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
2 D# b$ k, Z4 j" B$ w> 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
+ C  T9 V+ }( P/ }% l> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
* E' T# Z6 U7 U, Y# L; ^" G> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
1 }% F& B8 ^+ }# ~> 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
/ T% I- P4 K3 ~  D0 O) \  [; q. L! N> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
" |1 ?, g9 P' ^* t- V- T9 s. z5 K> 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
3 K# a. R2 O) b/ {> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
5 M8 a2 k) ~, c> bit colder in the process?
>
3 p4 L- D3 n; B8 ]( P. l> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
9 w# g1 x4 {1 ^( L, o>
! n  q/ U8 B3 l7 g) k. t. b> You now have two choices:
6 @4 `' J+ ?0 V' C> 1. Delete
8 W3 ?0 X1 [: O> 2. Forward
: L- |1 R4 r& u' Z1 M; B3 @>
; q0 F6 E! Y9 a( ^: N/ Q> May your day, be a Shay Day.