Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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; {9 o* D- d! W2 H; }. ]> 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
: s' j2 O* T3 h6 a6 W3 k% y> same choice?
>
> 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
# p4 X9 \% i0 t! o> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
) g  P' s7 {" C7 _/ g! F  L5 O> staff, he offered a question:
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; n# c3 f4 p- j" O5 b> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
; N$ ?$ O! k, ]) B8 s  f> 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
. }, o+ d8 ?& \3 e* q8 ^> natural order of things in my son?'
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> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
& Y' d1 v) Z* v6 L$ B  g, Y5 T8 y> 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
7 c! `9 o1 T% e% x  w" r> treat that child.'
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+ _  m' w. V. O+ L! c! j) u> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
+ \7 |7 u" A! Z! Z> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
5 o0 O8 C, H8 K! I9 a, I> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
  [: f& x& M8 g6 ~' a8 }> 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.
>
" E. ^# @( G! `; d" \6 }2 |3 i* R( f> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
& \! W3 J& c. h3 k; P> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
# S( W! n) b6 m8 I> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
2 o+ p8 g5 m5 Y0 J+ o> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
6 P+ J3 A, X$ y; r$ T: y3 [> inning.'
>
6 {3 z: m% B2 U: u0 N2 }% S> 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
4 Q$ N' u" K- ], Q! o8 S: C> 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
+ E1 A9 u" R8 G4 K3 O+ s> 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
5 F# G* `* w$ E8 Q> 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
" a) Z2 T) t. |% ^. Z> next at bat.
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% Q  m! H# W( |  @3 p- z6 k> 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,
3 ^/ a8 u) s+ _: a> much less connect with the ball.
3 f8 p& ]- g3 _> 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
$ m$ J: b3 h5 {" T> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
4 B1 t! n5 Q0 |3 O5 S> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
# f) j6 r/ O: A2 v> 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.
>
  Z6 Z6 z7 T/ ^9 Y/ q> 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.
>
: z% N6 s; a+ e( n9 E> 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
% V4 `" {: c+ Y3 ], ?1 i: \$ |> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
" m9 P- }4 v) v  Z8 o2 N> wide-eyed and startled.
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7 H, ?4 d; u3 T3 i> 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
# n% Y! F- A$ A  K8 q1 ~' q> 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
! _) c3 W7 t# X  J/ Z> 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
. u1 M1 n# ^7 w. [+ e> circled the bases toward home.
>
, p; i2 h9 V. C# L  U> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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* y1 r9 D% z, O7 D> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
$ h! P5 o$ ?1 |1 J+ z+ [> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
9 U. M$ Q  h4 }) m- {> Shay, run to third!'
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3 i: n: H% h- @; m: H! y> 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
> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> 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'.
>
5 ?* O' q/ `- f9 [3 i> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
9 W. b. {. V; h2 ?" D2 {3 @+ [> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
% x3 X! m0 L0 a> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
. X; T: F6 m2 ^: e! {1 U> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
/ P5 H3 L5 e" U: W8 ~2 p2 X> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
* G  ?1 ~/ R, Q$ X% s* H> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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; k8 [! H% U, l: R; Y1 p> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
( {' Y; j4 m0 d8 z0 Z" W1 O3 @. s> 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
) ], m" `7 s( p! ~1 C( i> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
  G. u/ P! l5 B( r" m& ?6 S, `> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
) L1 K/ r. u5 ~% A> 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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- Q6 J) [8 p5 d3 _( \; A5 F/ E0 g> You now have two choices:
# A' |* U$ e! n> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.