Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
* w& v( G' C/ B4 B1 O> 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?
>
> 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
> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
9 t2 _" I& K' h$ j$ O" j> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
' f: B3 s& e- c& N0 A4 l> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
- w% w' S  L; X7 z> 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
1 [0 t1 Y: a2 z> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
+ C& j1 Z' c. @8 M5 g& E" s> 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
$ P: a# p0 O& s/ S+ n0 d: u> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
. d* N8 @" A, x4 T6 E* e3 s> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
7 x( @1 N& }! y5 L$ {0 M0 }> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
! R, p' o4 U! b> 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.'
- `7 |3 k5 P% `, ?>
> 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
> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
> 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
> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
) i  \" }, m) d4 I& ?> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
6 }1 q+ Y, R# y- A9 @2 x> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
9 x" p( h; m* _9 r> next at bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
# d0 `5 f. P, ^/ [' I> 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,
> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
9 ]9 _% L+ t4 S; L+ r  B* p> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
. U2 W1 u4 z6 e& ]> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
' s: m% x1 U( p$ r/ D) y> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
2 q% s' F& |, E; y9 `4 u> 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.
. ~2 i+ H0 z1 l# J- f7 ?8 W>
> 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.
4 N) A8 `/ J/ y( s/ K' |>
> 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
/ h: p; O6 v! }* N& @' n* k> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
* |  U( {+ x$ d& f0 N3 M> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
  j( j& l4 F1 T- M6 r>
5 w: N+ }5 J. ]. p> 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
> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
" A3 [; t8 _  V$ d0 j' ?> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
0 n# H% V5 Z* N- F8 n$ A# v; V> 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
* t; u' R& h$ L> circled the bases toward home.
>
) l! E4 A$ i# X> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
9 M' V, ?3 s2 m9 H, f+ ^! X% ]> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
9 U6 ?5 A! f' \  h# g> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
+ z  A1 [0 G6 ]  i5 w4 R$ v> Shay, run to third!'
8 U+ Y4 d- E8 D4 ]+ x, q+ K>
> 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
6 ?; a- S$ f! D2 [! D+ c( k+ t> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
8 n0 g2 o( e. w: A> game for his team.
1 X+ d$ x5 C# u! i! U: ~3 M>
> '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'.
$ a5 O3 T/ ^8 E. L>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
* o$ o" A5 z: @+ Y" ~> 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!
  i, P  n0 x. O2 _>
. Z4 S' G) B3 Z' Q; ], }> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
1 C1 s" {+ a$ W0 j" a8 ^* S% R> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
2 R/ d  P1 e+ P> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
8 ?; @0 \+ b' [6 \> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
5 X) C6 B6 m; \4 l>
. T# o! A) O! n> 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
- ~/ M( R$ m# U- K* T+ k" X8 C> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
0 b) X' w( d0 }7 X- q7 Y> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
4 u+ K' M  s0 Q8 t2 l> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
8 n) s+ k" T- ?4 N/ Q  c> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
9 `* j; I2 F" L0 [" B* I3 d3 e>
. j4 E+ Y" o) O4 t7 z> A wise man once said every society is judged by
0 V6 s% `6 `) _9 W> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
' Y! {/ p$ |  q3 g6 y; H4 V> You now have two choices:
0 Z3 p! [3 i/ o6 ?& q> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
7 z1 x1 j+ ]0 l( H1 V>
4 q; d# F7 k/ E& ]> May your day, be a Shay Day.