Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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6 y8 M) n/ f, 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
> same choice?
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7 N4 T* O, x) ?1 N6 Q> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
; M! e- p( ^$ V1 Q' u& s> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
# g* |; D' m7 X2 m% }> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
% r- C8 T* `) ^: p0 H> staff, he offered a question:
>
$ p, }: D% I& |3 V1 {- f% b> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
; i% K; J; D1 G) H7 o> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
: X% z3 @5 j" h$ D% j> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
6 T" B* W6 E" V/ |> natural order of things in my son?'
>
' w5 T& g# r& m8 L& x& H7 ~. y> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
# J, n7 ?( q, ^; r6 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
8 c, G) F! y3 m9 Z! U4 T# U$ |> treat that child.'
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! o$ C* D$ v0 h3 k# L> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
$ |# h; N, q0 u% e% _& D> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
  f  `+ ]% ~- L+ L& S9 h> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
- W" j5 t- `5 ^: Y4 G; J> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
/ R, X- c0 M: [0 }% A) ]> 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
> 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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> 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
5 n5 J. _- p; g$ w7 b> 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
# U; ^0 b$ W5 P6 I' L: q; L> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
. r# \/ o' m! K0 P* e2 v> 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
+ u/ z3 g2 N  z) j/ b0 X> 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
" ?3 q' ^1 J6 q% K& {> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
+ G4 [1 B/ P) y> 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
, v$ Z6 W! a, g+ B$ g8 e> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
- h9 a& o( g' P) Z> 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
2 n2 {# q* F$ b* J: O> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
/ I& H1 C4 z1 c2 d> 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.
: ?' l6 Y4 ]5 ~9 P  d4 m# U> 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
3 w/ D6 @3 R# B" g> 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
1 N% {! k# \, _" a8 Z  s; f( c$ T> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
9 I4 G' f) x. s3 P- W) W( |> 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,
" x4 Q8 W5 P) c& V> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
  }# K$ ?' a% K. h% i7 l2 D% H. d  x9 P> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
4 k6 l" h) D6 E% _( ?> 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
4 g, D$ s" }$ J3 @> 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
> circled the bases toward home.
>
" _' n5 @3 E8 M8 f) v2 Z. w4 x  I> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
# t) r$ b0 R6 V& N& K3 r- D> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
1 S/ h) ?9 {% [, y6 p% p6 u6 L> 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
( `( B7 U" \4 I" Q' T; p* |5 Y> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
- D  V7 l2 T& _$ h5 I: k( I5 j> game for his team.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
0 o( E+ }1 H1 Y* I> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> 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
4 l) p5 V5 m4 X4 h  R7 k$ ]> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
/ q0 D$ @' O2 c$ S# e9 t8 I> 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
> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
  s; E" E; l& M4 }& o# x> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
0 A* r" d7 ~: M- U7 j9 ~> 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
# l) u# L1 R/ E5 P1 d" E0 B> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> 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
  ?% _' ?6 C8 Z" w> 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
1 L) C9 U6 |, S, b  [* l> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
' q8 @% W; L5 P8 ~; i* J% U; B- G> You now have two choices:
# x! H% X' L* N7 b  }> 1. Delete
) [) _1 b& }, m' E> 2. Forward
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6 a2 `; K1 K1 }/ R0 r3 |# e! S" q3 \> May your day, be a Shay Day.