Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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+ c9 E3 r9 J/ o/ s! N& B> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
% o4 n3 i8 Q9 Q6 F$ \' s+ h> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
>
  l4 J! L; |5 n0 o> 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
> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
8 M; w! P9 R) G! F> staff, he offered a question:
>
$ F! Y) S% R) I0 M* S0 G; u> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
7 w; s2 N  J( _+ ?> 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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# A; z: i8 c0 i2 r) W$ d* y> The audience was stilled by the query.
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> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
1 @' e& o7 S6 s1 b> 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.'
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> Then he told the following story:
>
8 D( o) [) x, ]9 |> 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
0 f' R( e2 G  e- G; D& c> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
2 y1 m' E: \& G% e7 B> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
4 [; }& l- X9 d- k, Z> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
9 q$ q+ q2 q& V> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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+ U" ?% [' n2 E: o8 t> 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
/ [$ N  D! t* _5 l5 a$ d- k5 s/ z> 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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2 f! ~1 l4 h8 f/ H> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
% h4 ?" S  n1 O6 o0 v> 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
6 X8 A0 g6 X8 t) J2 Y) W> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
* ~# k9 Q- H1 A4 T" S$ c/ Q$ k> 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
" B9 C+ T) `& m- R# t) |$ M+ w  ^. t> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
+ [8 Y& f% ^) e& _) o5 @> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
6 t; |6 ?# L/ P5 e! j' A' C> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
; p& Y) w% Y: O! G3 H0 u> next at bat.
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6 K2 z, J' x% ?7 `> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
$ R6 G; |$ _8 A7 r" J! I> 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,
. `0 j/ B6 _3 t4 c) B" s> much less connect with the ball.
6 S; Y7 `1 B# O: z> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
4 T' o  y" O$ p7 p/ s> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
, S4 s0 S+ V+ [5 e> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
$ }2 f$ q( v2 Q- p7 y> 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.
> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
' R- k; o* w; x+ Q> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
> 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.
>
! v, p0 ?0 k# h> 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
2 C2 c: _3 K1 Z> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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3 E1 F% P4 N) M! ~. u  e* C> 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
> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
& _6 j5 `. z7 }$ V1 h7 f; c; l, Q> 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,
$ z: M- Q7 U: _6 E> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
/ n/ q( d1 l; p5 p> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
" I% \0 J+ [1 ~4 @2 @/ p5 F3 u> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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, M  w# ~1 _1 P& X/ F  g0 D> 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!
> Shay, run to third!'
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1 x" W4 w1 Z+ {> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
7 e7 W2 W  p; V' j# X" X& k> 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
6 Q; Y2 T9 k9 o7 u> game for his team.
>
; U& A/ U. ]0 f6 p3 ^$ O> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
9 D6 I! j1 `. I: j+ f# ?> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
3 ]3 t! J, [9 t# G. k- |" G2 a> into this world'.
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> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
# o: V2 [2 r$ }> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
# `! _7 B5 a6 Z# x> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
0 T; [: d' q: ^  y> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
> 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
" j6 g9 h- B! v8 d, c> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
( n3 G! H- O; u8 ~. K3 l  z> 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?
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. X  i0 _9 `. \) g3 s0 L. ?> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
5 e6 v7 o& |0 E' f8 s9 z( O> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
! X  i; j$ U# O6 @9 ~5 y> 2. Forward
>
2 W' {) x$ n- N, O  o> May your day, be a Shay Day.