Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
, o2 U; c& y8 Q( [# I' D# c7 y> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
, ^& x2 r, y' i& g4 ?> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
# \6 A2 Z* z/ I: k  l>
7 P8 X$ h6 j3 S. m2 @3 f> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
% S7 s$ e8 F& v. X$ I" ~$ o% `> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
5 ?3 d& W) y& R6 H6 p5 e! n> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
/ W8 ~; F# q% }8 V/ O  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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> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
0 c# l+ j  R# a' m- X> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
: i) g! G  l' m6 l; _> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
# T: o' g, ]  d7 z" R> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
, Q& R4 V/ N$ m> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
2 E3 P6 K1 n4 h7 `) D. i>
  }4 w# }$ K/ k. L: p0 @8 f# M7 A( {> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
  l0 A' \- ~7 M! J' e& w> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
' m" O! r* v; t3 F6 y" w, M& d> 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.
>
( S) Y. K- ]% L3 o; S> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
6 n6 F, b% c* K6 @> 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
. B6 v  e/ l1 S> inning.'
>
8 |5 D6 z0 B* h> 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
> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
- x6 R5 Q- \9 J  s% r> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
' Q4 ^* p8 ^2 [> 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
> 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
  J5 Z- R* g) Y# J4 p% q> 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.
> 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
7 j# v0 k% y: {5 u& s' Z1 Z2 E. `. E> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
( A! i! c6 u& j, K> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
& R" o; u. ~$ O$ e! d& T! Q> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
. b9 J) {/ i( M( U. a, ~6 t> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
$ r9 a$ H& w( L+ @% _' b' u" u5 J> right back to the pitcher.
>
5 z) q# z/ C9 l8 n> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
& h! I8 `/ k6 ]5 D" k8 G  F> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
! r; `& t: t- H% v> out and that would have been the end of the game.
, i* o- C- U; O8 Z3 X. m$ e1 z>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
6 o7 u  E3 U5 p- g8 u/ N% {> 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,
9 O0 e* h( }0 D/ h+ X' Z> 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
> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
! A/ H  S  }1 P$ ?3 D- Q> 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
. C2 }$ G6 ?1 F> 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'
! F% r# s5 [0 S! ]$ x) K>
3 A; I4 L* [0 _4 i  W- T7 P4 r/ ]6 H> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
! C6 s: d  |  V( t% y> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
  x9 S: |5 A' t6 ~4 @# @! i> Shay, run to third!'
>
, C7 v" v+ t0 p+ h( ^+ F> 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
# D* U* W8 u4 k+ }. q9 D> game for his team.
>
8 x4 R4 H" b. H$ c3 Z0 W> '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
; E/ w: s0 A/ p! e$ z> into this world'.
( o" A: |0 V( ?4 i* [7 z2 L7 H>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
% P4 X( U* J3 K" r: }$ r& f( Q9 I> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
+ p- k. d0 |& r/ ]! j- ~: a2 g> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
& E% U+ r: G+ ^& ^>
% j9 d/ V9 Q5 h4 w> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
- c$ i; F3 ]- v2 Y$ P/ S% V/ v1 a> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
+ T1 ]! p, p  C1 R- @7 A2 O5 S6 y> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
9 @/ Y! u3 m! s9 g> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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9 l3 C( S4 l5 f$ i8 b' t> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
, k" Q# _7 q* m+ ?> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
+ x' @7 f. j4 ]0 b  t, R> '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
8 Q" ]+ c3 D" {. Y( @1 z3 G; o> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
; C# Z: j: ^& j) t' b> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
) e5 P. [7 q" D1 e> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
2 g3 ?- U5 B5 x# I7 ^& e> bit colder in the process?
>
# Z8 ]7 b+ n6 P> A wise man once said every society is judged by
" G3 o% W8 \+ `, K> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
, @3 u+ z" x% m' p> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
7 w2 @9 w4 S! @$ _2 y, }>
* J+ y) V, B0 w- Q> May your day, be a Shay Day.