Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
5 {4 M0 L- D. E# s> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
5 T7 J, g+ i7 u$ W; @4 {' }> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
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* h! N/ j' k5 F! F- O0 f> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
" h) v# H3 U- |6 h> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
2 R# Y# s* w1 o' n3 B9 T8 H- X> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
% Q. H) G2 o! j1 y# a- ?> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
6 A( g6 r* Y3 G> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
9 y7 i/ Q& e2 [- v! y> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> 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:
>
) H( j8 s7 e1 D2 w  o6 y- i& A8 V> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
3 I1 \; n4 W) I0 K% U+ _# Y7 J% q> 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
4 b' t! a4 p* y9 z! S  F# E> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
/ m3 N6 ?! C# f! W" m) R> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
( l8 m/ _- t" J! t7 B: u4 A> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
# D- W; t3 s# B> 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
' T' o/ M+ f/ h. A! ?. a" g; O> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
7 M* Z. h4 w- a  W2 T9 x( M> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
1 v& A5 g& q; n> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
$ N' ~8 t; [* o, E  ^> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
* v6 w+ I1 x0 A/ l( O( u> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
/ O5 p; j0 b0 c4 \7 _; K> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
. d0 m) x) j2 o/ h  X# p5 \8 l> 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
; Z: p6 U- O+ v' V, U6 v2 x> 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.
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> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
' ^; y* T. q2 a! u3 J9 m, g: l> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
1 \7 y, @' e3 {> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
1 h% T, L6 S. X. ~" ~0 |( \> 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
. C, ]( G" L# {; j' n% z> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
" v7 x! a* k5 K& m$ w: L> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
/ h9 I4 k. r$ m' X> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
) z% k( f1 {, X6 \, r> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
+ {! f& e) |0 j' k> right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
  T) K) c6 M& J6 c# H! Z> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
8 ~  Y( t6 r7 W/ }> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
2 S# k# w. ^- T' t/ o' F> 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,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
" b' I7 c' L+ w, m" t> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
, o; K$ D( ?  \. r> 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 T+ r4 o8 n0 C* c> 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,
> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
  d! g9 t5 ?9 u1 u> 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'
>
; T  u: `8 U( m/ t7 L( a) l& P  I> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
6 W1 |4 [  p0 j/ I- F. c> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
4 T- t  R; d$ ~% C% J% K> 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
7 t9 H0 I) _) z* f. A> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
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> '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
> into this world'.
2 a. J- H$ ]; M% j6 ^>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
, o  E$ J. K! K4 m) G+ D: d> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
# w8 A& w, n7 ?> 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
( B/ l$ l* G2 n> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
. K6 ^; U0 Z* p9 @, x/ \% ~- q> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
  M3 K; z8 |9 B% O# [# h- f9 F$ |" A> 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
  M& p- S/ ^. R- P4 U> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
% U2 a  u/ W" R/ A> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
5 O: {1 o8 z6 j" A# E2 b> 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
/ s9 K% O( L$ p- c3 w3 T& T> bit colder in the process?
0 H' O3 Y" b  A+ [" G1 ^% M6 Y>
  e# _9 b0 Q* _; @& z' n> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
3 |4 M3 _3 `" M9 o7 c, Q> You now have two choices:
( T4 v) d$ ~3 u. H> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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$ Q. I) p  h9 C3 M> May your day, be a Shay Day.