Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
; K! V6 Y& M+ w. Z4 w$ Y. V4 S> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
0 C9 ]: p. H7 W9 I  f> 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,
( ^: E! [0 Y( t7 V. J0 V: i2 j> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
0 O) i; y: [0 o; D  b> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
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: j, R' e" `. e9 J2 y% {* U> '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?'
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  A; v4 ]9 s' h0 U9 D. T) {( t> The audience was stilled by the query.
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> 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.'
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> Then he told the following story:
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2 V; R% C+ c. v> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
  J' a3 r+ a2 b0 g> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
' d4 e6 |" [) ?0 V> 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
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> 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.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
. H; D0 Y6 O" R: }& J& k> 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
& O; E& G/ W- P3 b7 K  y6 u> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
9 h2 }! z( ~; |8 w  E/ ^/ V> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
  N; h. H8 Z$ l> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
, m6 K- z0 t( q( G9 H( o# I8 E' r2 `3 \> 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.
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> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
7 K* L( E8 c9 n5 X& v; E" M9 o# c- k> 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.
# q! P5 y1 ^4 o; W; I) S9 v4 U; P/ b> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
$ U/ X5 w! a- U> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
& ]( m8 ~8 |+ [# y, |. S/ J/ Y> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
& Y; G: ^8 {7 m  w> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
3 a1 B, Z2 R) F; m0 n> 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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# K# X, f" b9 T# E> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
, W  c9 v# E7 k8 ]7 b8 {> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
) d& {1 W8 j5 R% C' c> 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
> 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
! C8 m+ y' m/ l1 t> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
6 o: t+ i2 a5 u7 H> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
" e0 w/ [  t  l! y> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
# }! `& w2 R5 v& }" J> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
( B  |. R% k( \/ k# R> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
3 x: v' a7 |2 c, U5 {' q> 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
/ J9 @0 [2 z+ J+ s0 ^* D> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
7 Q' k+ C8 R6 F3 L* S# O> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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7 |4 W* D9 f* {1 S5 U* A> 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
8 x8 r( r; t1 }+ S; @> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
. e8 y( k4 w# @- Q* J6 ]> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
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> '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'.
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, G: j/ c, d9 N4 }> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
. S) C7 w, [! M6 \( Q> 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!
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> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
9 P. w8 y, M* T) x* s! E> 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
9 d$ ?2 ?7 d; k( |: W6 M' a> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
4 g$ _- x) h$ Z# y$ ?4 @> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
' R# [6 Y' Q& m7 q+ X> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
0 x! ]: o4 e  H4 z> 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
( [" Y8 M3 ^8 F0 b( G6 z1 F> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
1 f% e5 J& S4 A7 b> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
- K  r& j( Q, o/ X> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
* w& N- B5 B. \> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.