Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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  R4 W+ z1 w/ f* f3 A> 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
: G& }4 \- }3 Y; y# r/ g" ?> same choice?
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> 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
# ~9 o1 M6 C, C6 E> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
+ O% @) u- C9 y; u% |. F3 `7 Q* N> staff, he offered a question:
>
> '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
> natural order of things in my son?'
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> 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
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
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! W# R9 V+ ^. H* T' R> 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
" h+ ^) f9 \' }8 d/ s> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
1 V! ?& d( M2 |$ d> 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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: o: w7 H1 @0 N" k; C4 ]> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
* G( M; I; |$ L0 r3 D$ _" q3 i> 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
> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
- Y7 V& Q+ j0 i; z1 S# y> inning.'
>
- A3 y' _0 P% H> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
4 x1 H1 S2 k% {8 s0 d, V> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
3 V; S% U$ r9 l8 t/ g! d8 A* l( N5 e  E> 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
1 [; s0 d- ]% _> 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 w' Z; w, w. j+ ~" Z> 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
' ]* J: r! C0 G/ s> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
: k! P) n) ]/ G> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
) P" p4 J7 m! f4 x( w> next at bat.
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> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
# F+ j" G' t; f. s, q4 _5 U3 w> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
2 x2 G+ L8 c) f% R4 h; q( f; e> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
1 p  b! \" `3 p, D> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
- b5 k* g& R* F! R> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
& d( K% X& _+ d3 _! ~  y. o9 S> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
3 ^- K- n$ u% X' c( p> 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.
8 ?! r* _7 k0 B4 G( V> 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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' }, G- ~( Y; b5 [2 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.
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> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
% i3 V0 ~) K5 b: A  ^* @. F> 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,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
/ @' f( p6 _4 K1 H; W/ u' [1 d> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
! n4 r0 X) _: _3 w" D+ I/ p" F> 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
7 _- c" `8 z2 b  {( [9 e6 y> 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
, Q8 K$ N6 }8 U/ S/ r# J6 Z> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
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, B4 B9 C- j: j1 z! d! o> 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!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
9 G! i" ~$ Z) J9 x7 x4 b2 A$ |> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
0 ]) m6 Z* d7 h9 Y, h6 t# y4 c> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
4 P  N" Y8 d7 p9 t0 |4 P" y> game for his team.
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- t1 D$ U9 q# w. b: z8 \# g> '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
; u1 _0 E+ [" k- t# N0 K7 E* R> into this world'.
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> 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
& g$ z# A' u5 w6 ~2 N5 X; K' S2 o> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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" A% k5 A& E* V> 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
# S6 Y4 V2 f4 r& ~) P! _, ?> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
% y$ y1 z+ L6 W# l" y  R4 \> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
' z3 y8 W# c9 {6 l! e> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
> 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
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
* d! l3 n( Y- N& q- l* S3 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?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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9 C, w! U9 j# `3 w> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.