Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
! u  c2 L  Z) z& g: M, _' Y. o> 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?
>
4 K5 x) T' u! n* J7 ~2 _" k> 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
1 h+ b. i2 J) j" {3 L> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
: Y* C5 C) H9 U! R# s1 x> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
4 U( s1 n* C; D; ]> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
1 o% Z$ ~; B+ F* U> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
# M1 r% H+ I/ }5 o> natural order of things in my son?'
>
. @4 \1 }# ~& Y1 E! `* R  S> The audience was stilled by the query.
. u% t! G1 Z! z6 O, X9 p, F>
8 O  m3 q3 N8 m4 ^/ j( [9 n> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
/ P: g' {1 ?1 @2 @% H$ C> 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.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
; R, f- g0 u" n8 x, C>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
& b" c1 n8 v& i3 s: b9 F> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
: j8 T' r' f: A4 Y% A> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
/ r3 W! Q  ]$ y) d9 H' f> 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.
>
' R6 b+ v# V; Z2 ^$ `; f0 K! b> 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
> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
/ Y( t% L6 h: l5 Y; f  R7 [>
) q) B  h* K8 N* \3 S> 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
- o* z# n( ^! s! Y> 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
) N$ e: R5 s: J4 _> 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
3 D" ]& N. ?) R* z> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
! a; @$ Q/ D: D2 U$ Z> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
) [1 g+ s& |' m! L, x8 O> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
0 h0 R! N5 U# b, z>
- V& Y0 W( t8 R( S> 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
$ N( V" A& Y) }> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
7 d% z3 q) d- _/ \% A> 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
> 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.
. A& n6 f! n4 K8 K% Q' k3 m> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
3 R) }4 \4 g! V1 o( p0 W> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
2 S3 Q" R/ [+ H  s9 y! f# O> 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.
>
7 N; q- G4 |2 @> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
  I# g. }  C' A0 i0 X> 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,
/ m8 n5 C. A/ Y" c" r& c> wide-eyed and startled.
# V4 Y" T1 X1 G: b" z>
" r5 G5 D- Q; l' |1 @* h) p> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
- w" ~3 W; v2 _' ~7 R# p> 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
0 E$ k" M! g3 z0 x7 {' I> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
0 S( L$ ?$ _3 q+ w> 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
+ f( C+ [5 r' P% L3 {$ w. j0 c> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
+ ~. N5 a! _+ m> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
2 D+ r1 ?. Z) x2 S" g  E> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
9 ^) w  d  H* {+ X8 y6 q> 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
> 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 m7 M* [) N0 K4 e+ O> '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
8 Q, a' K2 R% A  r0 Y' w3 I/ g> into this world'.
>
> 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
* S) z7 G4 D# `* d8 j% g> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
2 V" m* \$ M  E5 B: Y> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
( @/ m/ Y9 k& j$ X>
> 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
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
1 t" D7 S0 C) X  C" 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
4 Q" `" I8 r% q/ j' C: T5 v> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
/ _4 P2 O$ C4 }> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
5 A% }/ M" R* Q* v+ o8 R> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
/ j4 B9 o5 u$ p> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.