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?
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; ]; D- W$ k9 `0 e. x) W& v6 i> 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
0 t3 S  c7 g$ t* @' h, R+ P> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
$ G) K# y2 x" s> staff, he offered a question:
>
- J: ?7 q* ?2 N) P/ p' {> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
+ _( I7 C- z# H4 j' r0 M9 h> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
# F! S( _% e" B- O) ~+ \" V9 G> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
& t9 m6 H4 x  b7 h" _> natural order of things in my son?'
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> The audience was stilled by the query.
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> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
( ?2 G2 i' u/ u& o+ E0 q8 ^> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
, t$ |/ Y5 N6 h1 _* R, Q7 p> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
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> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
' |6 e( ]0 t2 K/ S3 s7 B' S/ P> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
% x7 f! q- S1 I8 u: b> 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,
5 P. b  T" H) |8 j6 K) z2 d" N> 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
, q8 t7 I. x( I+ z4 P$ Z9 [% h> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
& c& _2 k. S9 }8 q. `- X> 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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3 x/ N" G8 M$ D( {0 L' H8 j" b9 A8 W> 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
* N. [# F( a' Y. P% b! Q> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
- q4 S: r! i, H, L& e> 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
1 n$ {' ?2 K4 l: p3 M7 y9 n* w> 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
: y0 a: w+ P& s+ R" J> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
" d! s! H/ F# l1 O& L> next at bat.
6 {9 y- v: K; \, v$ e  l>
> 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
$ J5 B4 H- \9 I$ j5 L> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
8 U+ |" j5 n6 `& [5 q> much less connect with the ball.
/ H3 W, E9 c7 @> 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
% a  Z7 ^, E% o% y> 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
> 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
2 A1 X$ L5 Z1 `9 h6 v. J8 P( S) a> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
% @' s: N& m$ L" k9 _/ `# N; ]> 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
$ o$ h4 g1 _% c: E  g% _, q> 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
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
$ }: w9 o% z7 d0 T4 ]> 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
3 f4 T  T& P$ x( p- P> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
7 n5 Y, b2 a4 F( {> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
/ `# }. A  t$ e> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
/ U" T3 U. Q' F' n' y- z+ k" b> circled the bases toward home.
>
> 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!'
>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
9 u; p1 ?# H5 r" W; q> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
( d1 V! A8 ]6 W. F  U* U7 F> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
3 a! {! X9 [+ _" ?, d: p> game for his team.
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8 B$ h" {; k' U> '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'.
>
1 P, }$ Z9 G+ u3 Z/ i9 m  H: N8 o> 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
  I4 P2 y5 D" v& K> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
0 g4 n$ _( K* c1 ?% `% ?' q7 ]> 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
; J. r: C- w& a7 V2 U> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
$ K" c+ w' U  v> 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
' z* a0 I9 J% k1 Y5 b( O> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
& e: o$ w, j8 X" T> 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
9 E% E, ?1 ?3 v0 c, ?> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
% `& q. [0 }' m& ~$ S! ]> 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
> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
# |) h( F8 J4 X; x. M- [7 `. f! p>
3 h* G; J% h% |) y5 t% D0 T4 x> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.