Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
+ C" W' A8 r- J( X> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
' d% D4 _) W; ~" A> same choice?
>
* m* m& l# q- z> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
5 ~9 q( |6 @4 `% p. `" N* X> 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
> staff, he offered a question:
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& \7 l! b9 _/ [/ ~$ x5 z; Y> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
7 a8 ^9 a# A2 `2 w> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
! s  k3 K% W' G> 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.'
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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
! Q6 H3 u. n; I0 }7 D: H, I> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
$ c+ y) \! o: t$ F* s7 w0 w> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
% Y. {0 s6 M- b- S> 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
$ F1 d7 c5 X) |& K> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> 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
> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
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/ C2 g0 G* H/ ?1 f% j5 u> 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
+ e/ o! y* C5 X9 t> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
' w* H4 _4 \! S  I> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
; j4 O7 [" R% U> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
4 o1 ^; u! P4 P/ {: ^> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
; h9 M* |" {' h- Q, `% u# r7 p9 p> 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
" h3 M  M8 z: P> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
- L+ u9 P' P/ |0 I/ d3 f> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
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> 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
2 A9 g. ^4 c& Y8 ?! c> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
> 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
' b/ M+ h& k  ^7 v> 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.
>
> 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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* L- d+ O! b* ~+ @0 }( [5 y> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
8 i/ V* ?7 _; v" }9 a# O> 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
1 a* T+ H" {8 T2 ^! J9 Y> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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, w, X* e/ i5 Z4 j8 M& e9 w> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
+ G- o0 O9 U1 U  ?, j> 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
6 i# _0 n+ H6 J% ?, _# F  L> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
' o$ k' ?$ \- J5 g> 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
8 M  \1 o+ S, e> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
; V  o# j" v& Q! T$ I: p+ T> circled the bases toward home.
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> 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!'
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> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
) q1 K, A9 x3 S' |# n> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
2 ^/ u5 h: Y4 ^. v6 i6 h> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
' }# v" X0 z& P2 v* N  Z+ m' j> game for his team.
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> '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'.
>
> 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
6 z# h, E5 ]- s" `9 \> 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
7 `* X7 O* _& a4 F9 r> 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.
>
' x. F5 R$ W* \2 h- n' j9 {2 Z/ ~> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
" ^, c. x+ g: v> 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
+ F' b' ^: E9 W, K> 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
/ ~; e, _4 F5 V7 _> 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
0 _  a! `6 {5 f# ~+ i> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
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8 Z, s" b3 f+ c  P2 b> A wise man once said every society is judged by
  k' {. G) g6 a: }> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
3 s1 T* k! ?! {3 n> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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& n3 J6 |0 q" ~> May your day, be a Shay Day.