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?
>
2 g0 R; l& [3 E9 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
> staff, he offered a question:
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0 Q  o# E4 t. v0 k) ]> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
1 {8 |" Z1 ]! c5 y. y+ v( @& T# v>
> 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.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
& P8 P( G9 T5 C> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
0 f& y0 N( X1 O0 w> 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
> 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
/ ^* a% M$ U) i( b> 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
$ U& o/ o! V& A& e> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
6 B9 x$ o: V- b* u> 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
' \* n: N% M0 ^& Q% q> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
9 x' I3 \, N$ j> 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
> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
% K! w9 W. b; R> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
$ c% O& Y" A$ E! N> next at bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
- F8 F1 ^% @. @6 U) H, h$ 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,
) t0 m7 ], k8 h* h$ _> much less connect with the ball.
: {) `8 a. w/ w& B5 j2 M4 _2 w" L> 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
& l$ B0 T4 J& T6 k) I1 M* D7 ]6 f; 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
( T5 l9 X4 `! j% ?0 w3 W# q> 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
* t3 X. i5 [- @7 k- {> 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.
>
+ U  p. I4 ]1 d> 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
% ]& y9 ^$ r; c9 I1 ~> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
& F( u" I0 _' T) P  b2 t) c> 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
> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
6 d; @) [: `+ \/ h> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
$ G3 I1 e% m+ Z( c; Q$ l> 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
( N7 e3 A- T! o' M* {5 J9 ?> circled the bases toward home.
/ ^& a/ b5 J! ~: p>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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; E9 K5 F" ]5 G$ B0 U> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
; E5 |4 O0 d" w/ h/ G0 ~> 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
> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
5 R2 r6 D' l+ `$ L- q> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
>
> '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
; P* |: [$ ^1 `> into this world'.
: _+ R" J5 G9 ]9 M  j9 p- U>
* b- A' m! |$ e4 p9 X: p8 W7 X> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
. Q3 E5 a* S* U1 M( D> 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!
>
4 |. R* A, e! s> 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
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
$ E7 r7 w/ L# @. ~5 |$ R5 _>
> 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
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
2 w' ?  k! w6 A- E> 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
> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
* x2 {  l9 W  f2 _& F> bit colder in the process?
+ ~2 b  |0 j' \/ H: a, u; J* K0 v>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
4 U1 D$ ^. C1 |6 ?; d> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
5 I4 U) Q* b' S- z7 v3 `> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.