Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
8 l& }* j" E! P# p3 h> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
, O2 z% q% F' L: c> same choice?
>
8 a% X3 X: _5 X- X. S> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
- ^* C' W! J0 r) T> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
) t0 I  L4 T1 s5 Q% G4 V. Q! G> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
) f( ?+ U. O9 `2 r+ P! Z> staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
1 i' G) y$ M# B6 k8 ?> 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.
8 m4 x; _5 Z2 v>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
+ J1 K1 f$ {  D5 V% Z> 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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$ i' \  z; x4 M- e> Then he told the following story:
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> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
: u+ e3 W' Q/ i> 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
> 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
7 f. F  S4 d0 _, i% O$ W& c> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
5 f$ A- o8 S* }6 O# [( M8 S$ I9 m> 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
6 F3 S' |4 H0 R# Q0 [- E> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
/ m8 @# P8 O( Q% B2 E! ?- Y> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
; Z/ o* n$ z7 I% l3 @> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
, K" l& ?" ~$ Z6 a> 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
> 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
$ B: s- [. k3 A! t  W& F> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
8 Q& [0 _" i( ~' N) T* u0 N> 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 [: z1 b" t; m$ t> next at bat.
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> 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
/ O! Y; R' v3 p% `3 t> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
5 Y) M) Q( ?& W' R4 D- B. M2 }> much less connect with the ball.
# |. w/ q+ X8 x4 R# @5 }/ v> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
/ C( G  k7 t8 `) @. p1 M> 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
> 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.
>
& L# @1 K. g, W; H9 P6 d8 S> 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
' v# q  b: J% a7 h! g5 x- i> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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2 T$ b& v. U8 ?2 ?7 a5 Y6 ?> 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
- ^# x1 P6 _% b! T0 g> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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! o. s1 E8 j0 b> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
) [* x! V5 v2 E! Y' {> 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
> 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,
, [! |5 K9 w- B; U% [$ t0 m2 T> 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
! v; H  g( x8 n+ i& o, w5 |, d! k> circled the bases toward home.
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> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
4 U0 y0 ], H0 T3 E* b> 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!
# Z+ s0 l! N: V# ], U! F> 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
( d( T) W% M1 [& x> game for his team.
>
; T* `3 j& h. d  v& \! w> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
" G; `5 U/ U8 o! p5 ~> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
1 ]& n% i* A/ C) L>
3 n9 E6 ?( d( y! w4 i- @> 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
6 z0 ^; \2 H8 S3 c) {. [. |. n* M' S> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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- p( ?8 H+ @) C( R; x> 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
> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
, J* d" L! ], Q> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
. R9 I- K- U# S5 N; M0 k, {3 a. s> 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
> 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
, O: k" `) p7 j* v) F> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
% a% R& |# b9 ~6 ^: D* `> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
. p# O" F7 z; @1 t0 u" o> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
>
7 J4 {2 U: P. R1 J> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
) |; [0 `5 \6 M) ]# k% `> You now have two choices:
% ]+ K# \) u+ |' w> 1. Delete
- y- N+ R9 X% X0 x- h% v" U> 2. Forward
>
$ Q. F$ `' s4 G5 g; A> May your day, be a Shay Day.