Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> 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?
% f, V5 n' O) f9 r8 y7 a, G>
> 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
2 L: M8 m' v& D> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
, n6 @5 m& y( L, e>
5 t7 F$ ~  ~! I" Q) `: {$ S) D: f> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
, y! j9 x4 h: w) V' n> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
) G' n7 O, }+ I) ~3 Y7 O> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
9 X% s5 B' n+ z0 w& l# ]> natural order of things in my son?'
, I# u3 F4 K6 g0 K6 T>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
, O. X" |* B5 ]7 _+ [3 c9 }> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
- w! l% O. m# M> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
) o9 u, O+ b  C: X+ N2 ^: B/ S> treat that child.'
3 ?  x( _( a' j9 w! N+ ^>
> 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
$ x7 X3 a8 t$ c% |5 Q) Y> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
% k  P, F. `- d& |+ J; V9 |> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
2 L; G8 p# y& L" e% Y& ~. w) L> 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
: q$ L) W3 h% z  S> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
1 f" C2 F8 q7 ?> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
+ k2 J: e0 h0 b; ^/ e. k>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
9 K3 }( r, ?% l9 p> 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
- @; [  I0 T0 H) x: H9 C- m% T> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
9 O) n# e+ I. s  r6 Y> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
. l+ B8 q) r0 B0 T% b, f> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
+ L$ o9 O/ a% P5 m  p> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
! z6 c( f/ M4 q' s% q, s> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
: H  C7 E; y+ b. e> 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
> next at bat.
$ q* ^* U1 u4 b7 j( U>
- M; R6 U2 Z) J" _> 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
5 r$ X: D/ v0 m1 k! Q) P% v, J> 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
" y. E4 S. h) |7 ?  I' a. A> 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
/ P! L5 N  k/ \> 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
! z" V6 E$ y* v! A+ f! T> right back to the pitcher.
) S; H+ T0 m5 }' ?, v; J  q& f>
> 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
. F* v  S/ u, V$ E+ l$ b/ s+ k# Q> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
# n$ z- k0 [: g6 B. u> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
, E# [1 U4 L& z> 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,
5 I8 H9 @5 b6 k, E> wide-eyed and startled.
>
2 U) q! h9 e7 D# @/ v> 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
' l0 H2 W4 n9 ?6 `" ?: Y> 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
> 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
5 W2 S% ?* j! y) W3 n$ l> circled the bases toward home.
  n) C/ O# {* ~) I+ C' ~  s>
# \3 {. w$ S7 Q7 J6 z2 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!'
  ?* {4 H9 k9 k3 B0 ]" W>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
4 E  C! u3 |7 H$ C$ \> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
4 q) N% m7 |8 v$ u> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
# ^0 K! I8 f0 z5 J- {6 E& j>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
2 P/ F  A- H! M5 @0 M: ?6 W" W/ t> '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
> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
5 P/ L- P- F5 _( g: k>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
% F$ M* a5 R1 N$ T/ i> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
* Y9 E) j7 r$ z- c- U> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
4 g; H2 E  e9 \> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
& ?1 H) y1 M- M/ E1 ~>
/ }# Z' I' }. Q/ a7 h6 e+ ]0 ~> 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
2 B: Y& V8 }) y; h7 V> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
7 E* q& p# k$ }& {. z& {> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
$ }; j. u" z9 u% M> 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
  f' n& i3 x( |8 p' k! X" S* i> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
>
' h4 s8 k3 ?" a7 ]# e1 W! N' w; z> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
8 e/ }, ^1 d3 z> You now have two choices:
0 N4 Y' H: S% C# n( q0 S, N> 1. Delete
1 K/ ^0 a, ]& ^1 _; _- f" O" z1 r> 2. Forward
>
2 j) H" U& Y: k: i7 @> May your day, be a Shay Day.