Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
& S+ ?6 w' |2 J( @" n+ v% P8 K> 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?
>
- r' z6 k1 b. |& T' t0 n> 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
> staff, he offered a question:
3 G* `0 y- a7 s1 o) @* h; b>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
: v" _4 p. q& K9 i2 `> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
5 X, G! D& ~. Y> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
$ u* d9 }! t) {& I. a> natural order of things in my son?'
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4 M) N3 O& x' \3 S7 ]; P> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
3 [+ ?, B6 g7 C' o# I> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
0 Z" |4 W  f3 ]% l5 h: O> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
; P6 |8 G1 d8 y> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
9 s4 s8 n+ H5 B# t' n> 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
> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
) V7 V$ K7 a5 S2 u2 A7 G+ W. k> 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.
>
6 B7 w1 o9 k+ L4 v; w& \1 n" d1 y! M> 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
5 A, Z% g- f  Q5 E> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
: r% ]$ @7 `4 W: k- L> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
0 [$ ~4 o1 `- r( L5 y- w3 B9 c; T>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
8 y( V  d, T5 K- ?( l- {> 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
( ]; X* |2 Y+ Y: r( K1 d> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
% s" w; ^: J$ c5 {> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
2 `( L% B& i; r$ x! W/ \! c> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
) _  h4 r* o. w9 b9 E. r; p$ x> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
+ e# Q' m+ `9 L0 C> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
8 J* b! I! \) O; e9 o+ W9 U> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
  k" F. t- z4 u/ t' l! p" ^: P2 r2 h9 U> next at bat.
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5 x% B0 }  d1 F% B( ]3 z! W  z- T: D> 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,
> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
* K" U( i+ T; s5 N, Q  l, D  @> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
6 r) b  }8 f2 {* G- s> 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
& \9 u- P, t# H% X: F+ S7 N' W4 N> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
: U' r; F7 ^+ r% A> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
: o9 t6 @, h' J- J% r2 W- x> 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.
>
% k. e! e% t1 f+ r8 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
, }) }/ q4 |0 i: p> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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1 ]  f) k& v( A0 b9 ~> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
$ s, \1 f; U+ J& i% o> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
! M4 v' {, U  t+ b> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
2 l# v( l3 k2 ?" b$ G; R  t> 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,
> 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'
% x) i4 _9 t" {* |>
> 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!
# ?5 A& p; f: T2 S- @> Shay, run to third!'
>
$ S6 ~% }; G8 e, T> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
" |9 [3 a/ D# T5 H' r4 Y: D( |1 T> 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.
>
7 c; k* U+ M7 s+ i# ?5 o: ^> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
+ k3 `' t& _( _% h5 z> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
+ c0 L/ G1 m6 T2 L, P>
> 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
> 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
) i9 E) G9 P5 w7 @: x3 A> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
! e+ V: @: z' D4 q' G. h% ~& B8 ~. X> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
& Z2 i7 z  W4 p: M>
> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
8 E, f0 v* L, S' \$ v> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
* V2 ~+ s! r" m+ f> '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
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
3 `, {5 c; V) d# D" A; n6 z> 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
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
& ]5 b3 ?4 S+ |# C0 z! `2 w9 b5 U> You now have two choices:
& \0 p. }4 G. _: \4 I> 1. Delete
  u- X; ?6 y1 ^& U1 J$ l2 i. j> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.