Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> 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?
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# l5 h! S/ c2 p> 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
% l3 ?9 D3 b' F' U> staff, he offered a question:
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1 r  e4 h, ^4 ~: a. x, c3 q> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
2 b6 _( ~" P  |5 F/ B3 ?+ M> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
9 D2 o4 w$ g/ D/ T9 e> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
0 \# r% O  z8 Z3 a7 D, d7 V: Y> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
3 m2 ~& M% z- T* y, j" h> 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
* X( D0 J" Y# D1 s5 p/ l! D2 O6 e> treat that child.'
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$ C9 \+ V/ i  h/ D* A: M1 {1 M> 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
2 t# K1 }" C  U1 ]4 Q! o) c> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
$ \& \5 w5 `$ v8 L* z> 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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> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
  S+ h1 V8 c7 O5 N, I> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
5 q, }! R/ n7 _3 [. Q5 l, \> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
- w- N- }& I' L9 w5 L> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
# L- I) Y" `# u% [2 ^1 e> 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
. u  ?- r) d6 A# E7 \, l  P, [7 T> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
% X* ]% t* O8 p> 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
> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
8 ?- Y" x% U. x# B- @, E> 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
& C  P7 G3 s: I! Q( Q> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
+ F  j  W: [1 W+ V% T/ B( {> 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,
& z6 P, b4 J8 J7 F/ E> much less connect with the ball.
8 x3 T7 L( l- \4 V% ~> 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
4 j1 s" {2 @+ |% T8 t> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
> 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.
' F1 l$ _1 U! l& \  y4 P> 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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> 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
> 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,
/ F7 p. V( M) s6 O; z1 l$ H* h( }> 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
> 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
4 A. p( \$ ?! p, s7 K$ i> 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
& |8 t8 k; R5 g) F* U8 B> circled the bases toward home.
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3 o8 j, I! x$ K> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
" y. S9 P, E; f1 }/ [. Y7 k: F> 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!
! S, [' u, w- j. H- t, U> Shay, run to third!'
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> 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
% C/ [0 z# W1 u+ F2 c( z> game for his team.
>
  V, p4 p2 w, O2 `" P( s* I> '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'.
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# ?' A* G* v0 {/ t9 w> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
3 t) F8 q9 `; Z. p> 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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) v7 c: f$ t% _9 d: V+ v> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
! c# E$ g  |' H2 q) x+ o7 E, c> 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.
>
# {4 B! x: f8 g6 i" x4 B> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
( i) a& l9 {1 x- u2 x5 ]> 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
( H9 v% u! |9 e: X8 @5 R% ^> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
) S" N1 k  f) P2 D; J/ H> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
: _2 h  T3 U) ^> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
6 N6 s( F5 l0 N6 T, J1 B: }# `> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
; o6 @7 B" u4 y' w> bit colder in the process?
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% V) @! B* m# R> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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* N1 ?3 v" Y: e2 j# [% f& p> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
: T: _4 ?" y1 Z5 @1 ~1 [> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.