Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
: }3 Y4 |. t0 O3 C1 X> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
. R) d% L" f" \1 I$ c> 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
; Y4 g* I4 ~& L1 a' v> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
" h( h. l( B( k8 c4 D9 O- Q7 S> staff, he offered a question:
>
/ J& n5 R: K- V+ _6 N' e# f> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
) B6 n* u6 Y" W2 ?: V9 \> 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?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
$ z5 J- v& y) ~/ e) D> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
% A7 \+ d3 v# a* q> treat that child.'
>
* u$ c% L0 S. i! r1 ~& z> Then he told the following story:
>
> 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
& Q- R5 Y: y0 P5 y+ o> 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,
) O  J. A  T' O8 r; Y> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
( }- {  i: P; K' L) j1 z> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
- x  D) k' N- {% c>
> 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
7 [. h! _- z+ \! C! o3 k* s> 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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; _8 Y0 M3 g; G. F5 r' J9 v> 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
6 r$ b  }; L5 \, l, d> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
, N+ q5 u1 A' v! i* P" |: j8 F9 O( O> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
4 B# w7 Y) p: V1 d* W! \" M/ N> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
, C. x# w3 h6 U: b> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
+ ^6 T0 }8 x2 W" v& m8 q& 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
/ `/ o9 ^0 p3 a& f4 S' q: U7 h> 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
2 _# |4 ]4 r) j, z/ `; w! X$ H9 \> next at bat.
$ c: \" u2 Q. m>
4 b, U0 M& U* u; ?> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
7 O( V' d6 A; [$ @> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
8 g3 k4 q6 m9 g6 }5 k/ N> 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
8 I. M* Y+ J* k) l" f) P5 t4 j> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
4 d% H  F" y& F> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
  c  O, W4 {& c: w. C> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
2 m% r9 B1 V3 [, `, R8 i# S" [> 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
> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
& W# [; H4 ]' E/ h3 |# `# k> 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.
>
1 \% t/ R5 o5 f+ G) R> 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
' x2 |% C0 e, @+ J' A+ f# l8 s" Y> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
+ s4 Z: T+ g/ b$ w7 T/ x> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
! i2 z* J  A; N& a- Q> 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
. q5 D9 q: q7 J> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
& \4 z, I/ G6 c: ^1 K- n> 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.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
5 t' _8 a& Q. h( y9 w- T+ h! X>
! F3 j) T8 [* G7 @& \> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
' I6 z+ E0 o  m4 n, g5 H: I6 y$ U' F> 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
6 a, H/ z& x2 H) o8 W4 h; a8 n> 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
> 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'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
' l# ^: n5 G" v2 |8 ~+ F> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
( \+ M1 B, L. h: k6 t( F& ^1 X& D( t> 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
/ M0 O( ?5 _" ]+ {2 G" _' D> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
) C3 F6 A+ S) x4 t/ W5 R> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
2 M& S, h7 G! P& V5 }>
> 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
# K4 ^# H% _* ?4 K3 Y: J1 X* H! ^> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
& k! d' w1 x- H% t$ 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
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
1 P  o7 e2 A/ {> 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
& ^* D0 {6 S  F) j8 ?" s0 |: p5 s> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
9 F& I3 w# `$ d7 @4 w" D) G- ^> 1. Delete
  z$ P: o5 W0 X' q3 v* H2 `! w> 2. Forward
5 E0 T  N( q; C. K/ D2 \5 o2 o7 T8 U) [>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.