Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
* ^2 {% ~. [' ?6 M6 _; J/ [> 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
0 ]: X. v4 |. C' T. q& W> 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
> 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?'
>
& N/ M, [( h$ }  B1 D> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
* Q  i, n. [- a3 z6 ?> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
! W+ d3 G/ z# E> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
4 ~+ x1 a- b7 H2 Z' \6 M1 {- L> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
) ^6 y/ J( S! R/ J. T> 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
0 a% D/ e( W0 o: w! O, L  K* |> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
' m! F! d8 \* ^- H4 H/ J> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
/ x6 s( \' O! g6 m! f" h7 v> 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
2 ~/ w5 ]2 z; H> 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
# f* F% m4 t  t( O& j> 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
7 p1 p* `4 z2 j  P1 \/ q0 b> 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
7 j* O# K  u6 b" G- J8 }5 @> 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.
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5 K3 z9 \4 P6 {% u" p$ R> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
0 D( W' o( b# J3 e! U% x> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
+ h. L, R- P' b1 U( O> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
8 ?# v$ r8 B* L# v. ~4 Z0 H> much less connect with the ball.
0 @7 J% B& K* d. p> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
! Q. i8 h# F7 ?& A> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
0 P! |0 g( F4 q+ Q! z> 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
7 p5 U: @! [* A" r% S> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
9 f0 h! h) L9 A! r6 k& ~4 |> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
3 S: y; N% O- f$ a> 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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  U8 U: Q; u& @) _, d# F> 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
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
8 G+ u* O& \& O; m8 a) ^( J$ K> wide-eyed and startled.
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. Q5 c" ]7 K& E  C4 f- {3 a' Q8 ?  a> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
2 M- I; c% ^, J& c) _5 t9 q. T> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
; |4 o0 G# V" \% G> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
' q8 W- _* n* x6 Z> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
9 c. Q( _8 |0 E3 ^+ E3 {! i& J> 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
> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
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$ P! _" _) M% s, C5 \> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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- u2 }4 ?& \. c* P0 p> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
8 K% ?: B  G. V> 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
> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
) A' _" c- H/ R8 x$ i3 a, C/ _& k6 b' I> game for his team.
>
9 G  ?; g" S4 D> '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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$ o9 E& Q5 S5 P> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
+ M7 X% ?: o: n* C0 I$ r+ w> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
: c- P3 U; V6 }) x; |1 N0 Q. S0 n> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
> 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
5 W) o0 H4 b2 Y/ ^  z> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
- I) n# j8 w5 Q$ U  z> 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
0 P" f' n5 B' |> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
: s; M/ v& K2 L; j' y# Q  z> '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
' `+ V& L$ s$ H> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
  O: \( a5 S5 w/ t4 `> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
, D. g8 E. m& o6 i/ P. B: _2 ]> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
1 r2 K0 k3 [! ~' J1 A> 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
, X* k8 S" D7 l# {) l, Q> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
7 p& ?7 U8 ]4 C: x8 ?8 B> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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. L1 j" L1 Q% _> May your day, be a Shay Day.