Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
  [( J( T+ F; T- r! @, }: I: W> 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?
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
6 Z4 a' w8 A, _4 F8 T> 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:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
( i5 U9 B5 L/ U7 r) o2 z. Y+ p  G> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
; N8 w# T1 M& J. d$ A. Y3 E; X> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
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> The audience was stilled by the query.
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4 V8 S/ s6 T/ D- w> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
- o8 Y  W. t' N# U( x> 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.'
2 x  J/ K% t5 w- k2 E' Q>
7 e9 K7 c# q' S0 R5 g& [9 ^> Then he told the following story:
>
% H% ~" W8 m& n( r; o- s! l> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
. X7 |0 M, ]. l* q> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
9 l& q* Y6 ^$ O9 E$ x" y> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
$ X/ Q2 t% m& q( [  F) k2 ?> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
9 \  |% T0 h8 r8 p" h7 _" j> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
6 y5 u9 j+ w  k8 z>
> 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
5 \, L9 }! O. H* E& t# Q5 L6 G9 ?( `> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
+ @  x& N# [/ a8 Y  y/ {$ }0 u> inning.'
6 s: A  g( `5 Z% I! C>
, u; S! {, h$ F8 ?0 g> 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
0 f0 _' k' O1 E1 i1 ~> 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
> 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
! L1 \' Z8 U& j% N; @3 \6 l> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
$ n7 w# J3 _  a) X> 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
, C/ D' z% T$ [; H+ L/ g> next at bat.
>
> 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
> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
6 ~/ y5 }3 B, m8 o> much less connect with the ball.
8 h/ c* u# A4 ]2 S  p' C$ H7 Y> 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
> 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
$ A% ]( o, C$ H, X6 K. \> 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
" a* f5 K6 k# n) I  V> right back to the pitcher.
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& N/ u/ X% y" `# \9 P4 z> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
% i% O& J5 Q2 {# F( g1 m4 w% u+ J/ w> 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.
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
0 \8 \- L# j( e' n( T> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
* E0 c$ U+ Y9 D4 y5 N* W> 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,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
% t7 c; `& B; z6 j; y> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
  l& x- U' ^. p) S) n> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
, V; K# \' r* C5 I3 R> 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
# V$ K8 t# V6 t1 \  E$ ?; V8 U) V0 r/ P5 Z> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
! \3 W( d  H* B6 m8 Q1 c. b5 x/ _> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
5 Z  ]! s% F! t6 k> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
  `6 m! e1 w0 v' W; q# t8 J, R> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
$ O& P+ X: n9 z* T> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
4 r( {) N9 r: F4 }3 p5 t> 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
> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
: b) ?, T3 J0 b7 W> game for his team.
7 C. O  Y5 {8 L# p) x8 \. |+ J>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
; Q# v' f8 H7 j! |> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
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> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
  i  K; w! o2 e7 f9 I1 j) {> 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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' F! d/ B- q+ U: D1 @% ^> 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
/ B" ^) S8 @5 t3 f# h> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
, ~9 p2 `  Q) ]; @. j% n> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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! O3 ?" J& Y- I6 ?9 `1 _> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
# e3 Y5 b# k# Z# E* P  d* T# m3 i> 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
) b" c3 _4 f1 `> 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
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
& ~; T' |. }# S8 x, |: c8 J> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
* y8 u% z, F' o1 V8 X! v4 N" l3 n> 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
# f, x6 k! A/ Y: o% p> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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9 o& q1 u% l; H> You now have two choices:
0 F! \- y# S- `& M5 z& {1 `> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.