Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
2 U2 E- V+ l& [- z8 Y> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
>
6 J" M2 Y5 a& O2 u> 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
" l  K7 Z9 z: f. g1 e> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
( `( |- H' }) Q1 O& z# z>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
* S5 e4 L& v& I5 E! x> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
1 T8 R& z! A2 l; j5 R> 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.
6 D* I5 i% ^5 m) t+ V0 W. n>
4 o( Z. o6 Z! Q# F> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
: @& w8 g( M6 D6 i0 X> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
# p/ g( ~1 p4 ^; ^# ~3 x>
> Then he told the following story:
>
  I, {0 R: F, X2 S$ i& b> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
/ Y* a2 b4 X6 S- v> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
" I; H' K3 u0 \. F( D> 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
: Z+ U9 W2 t. i9 {; }) H> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
% i, i+ n, n( X% x. d> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
: M+ f: _- L' V> 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
+ [: M  V' v( h! S) ^6 A! N# _9 ^> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
+ ^& k+ |- O2 X- a> inning.'
>
> 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
0 w; E1 g9 h# a0 C. E' k> 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
  k4 D. O7 l+ S  s/ o> 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
4 n+ |* H4 z* Y9 _+ u6 G1 l> 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
> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
+ k7 {, n% c* K- {) h- B> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
/ H" C. D) h4 ]> 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
$ ], l. P: H- d4 N> 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.
1 m3 R5 Z1 A( r' R# `; q+ N> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
+ }' ~& ?1 [3 @8 D$ y>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
, j+ C1 n2 j" w% u> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
! D, b+ |) S1 p) I+ m: S( H> 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
8 y; w6 O" y+ p- p  S8 W> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
0 `' D6 ~3 {7 N2 m> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
. e+ \5 u4 D7 S% o, z6 ~> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
- n4 X7 J1 o+ d8 ?4 t: }; F! Z> wide-eyed and startled.
>
% v7 a6 A1 p& |. I% h> 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
5 n/ D" r7 S2 r9 r5 s> 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,
' z3 O" {. o* Q0 {> 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
( j6 K" J& w/ o6 F- C7 T> circled the bases toward home.
>
0 c; d, x8 W0 B+ @8 R  `! I> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
0 T( e! w# x' E' \( Q3 I( z> 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!
  |) c) n$ H! h* @$ I% v) l> Shay, run to third!'
& ~1 ?; K  r$ ~" E>
> 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 C& @7 ]% A; v> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
1 \% Z) ^8 \6 B7 P; d> game for his team.
7 v. E% r2 a/ ?5 S- O4 {9 p>
" ]2 Y$ J7 m1 i; f$ c> '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
1 R% }6 m* N' x( z> into this world'.
" D9 }) C; q: O! d>
- w& d/ p" o; Y/ ?% r3 X> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
: i0 ~$ ]* f2 |. j* Y$ h% H# ~> 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!
>
' v8 v$ c1 I$ Q3 z0 m+ F# J> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
! A; t" j0 A0 `7 i8 K; ~> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
) x1 W5 {2 R* j' Q6 C6 Y$ J1 _> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
4 W6 H* e" |' x> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
' M  C  J( @+ H1 o2 Y> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
: O- `# u5 J$ Q* l; M. ]2 ~>
> 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
, U1 U6 T( _* E( ?/ m( G& e0 K> 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
4 R( y* n2 C5 \> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
# J) W7 M' y  ]* W( k# X>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
, P7 f3 _; z( X0 j4 O> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
9 N) D+ N, @% U: A1 G7 k5 U% Q; O6 Z> May your day, be a Shay Day.