Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> 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
! b- ?& a! l4 r" W6 i0 H> same choice?
>
> 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
; ?4 x9 d6 o2 Q/ C8 u> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
. u+ t8 B7 X7 L  e> staff, he offered a question:
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7 [+ q4 t" L: f4 ]. N> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> 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
& V# o& x3 x# p1 p> natural order of things in my son?'
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$ {! O. l% N7 W/ n+ h; V, F> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> 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.'
>
& j3 T  z% S/ N" n+ b9 |) T1 U0 ]> 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
> 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
5 j7 x" c& l! i! Q9 r' U> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
. |+ w& p9 }, a" q) G/ q, p0 H7 U> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
4 y3 R. f7 j5 ^2 f> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
8 O3 G3 T" }4 P- s  _8 w+ N> 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
  ^- h3 T% U3 r! H8 ^3 K> 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
& {3 A0 V" e, H2 K> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
+ S; O& d, R# p0 M# C> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
  t8 Z+ O2 [0 _% u; c  r- D> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
; k1 T/ k4 }) R, e( H6 `2 i9 M9 s> 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
" p, Z; y, T9 {+ J> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
( @, j8 I# t9 B5 j' N& ^> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
" ^& n9 k$ x' z: a% }1 n. ]> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
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& y7 \. c2 |, o6 O5 J, g> 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,
/ G4 N+ U, P. \( I. S$ W5 e> 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
6 W+ C) ~8 ?" [$ w> 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
+ i; Z" B, h6 a* @$ C2 E; G> 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
! l  W3 ~% [2 b- y> right back to the pitcher.
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> 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.
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0 `# A- p' y; I! [& h% q  S> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
: m& i9 b3 b: h/ h; Q> 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
; J/ w2 M* I* d9 l> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
5 f% R; ^! }  \> wide-eyed and startled.
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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
3 Q( [- \0 E- j1 i$ D> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
) [3 O. _1 C" X5 q8 X% c: }> 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
* s4 B  C: b9 g7 D> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
) r( }* g: n. [> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
, @+ ?9 C: g! `> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
  ]2 N# j; h# b6 H0 R> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
4 O& i8 X& w! H> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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3 i& O+ V# w# {- h3 c> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
5 Z' {# i: D7 o2 ]! N# l; D4 H> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
- Q( _2 [- t9 P4 C  g> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
: I/ p" K5 M+ o/ Q> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
) K" F& u- b" H3 C! ^> into this world'.
>
) Q# Q' L! E) q% D7 e3 {  _> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
: L9 q1 E: m" C+ H1 b# ^# b! J> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
7 F& W" @" _8 ?) L) H# ^> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
  S* U. c) J, e: Q: c3 v> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
, P' K% j+ x' O> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
+ U( P6 ?& A' q" ^> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
; x5 ~. C7 s* o8 ?& R> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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8 {3 [& k) q/ B5 O4 n> 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
1 p9 Y1 G8 o  y8 F> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
. x* \' `; U8 P7 x6 j> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
' m. \" q8 l, g3 W> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
6 X3 _0 L' s. @> bit colder in the process?
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9 f; e6 A4 r; U( J2 d0 p" E> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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, K5 O2 e+ T5 |, X9 v> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
4 d5 D2 A! P4 c0 f) `8 k" v$ Y4 v> 2. Forward
>
# Z$ e/ D5 N, ]0 ]6 z0 I& ]8 c2 c> May your day, be a Shay Day.