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
> same choice?
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, f6 k- ?% u% p> 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
+ q2 R0 p3 J) \4 B# M/ p) x> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
6 {; b5 k- }7 q# G> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> 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
$ s6 X6 \) g5 r6 m; E0 W* ?> treat that child.'
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> 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
# r1 \+ h% }! }) {" j> 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
/ i% w" `- U7 d: @' d, C> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
; ?8 o6 F3 E( `8 ~/ N# e3 G8 @> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
( v# a9 V! s) B# ?3 t> 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
> 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.'
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> 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
> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
. ^5 F6 ^5 j) Z7 g  r> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
* i# U- z, \$ ~+ A8 e> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
0 e  U% Y5 M, s" W9 L. U7 Z> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
1 _0 m8 F# e9 d> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
; ?1 o7 P4 [! H0 ]4 t" q' D- ~) l> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
3 E2 A% d7 M( L) r1 C- U9 m) d$ Z9 I> 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
% J; a" j% s$ U% T. a$ |> next at bat.
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6 l. i" w+ Q! Z- _' W& l% O> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
  i6 b/ S8 e1 B> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
: U9 n& k. l  V4 u2 d% L4 q> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
. x; W1 J$ |7 e* v( Q+ U4 r8 @* E6 i" _> 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
, M/ ?  e3 ^4 g0 j: s( G2 t8 W> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
+ Z* b; K8 @4 F( i> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
6 j5 n0 P% E: |3 m5 l4 L* i5 Q> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
& _  s" A. u* T' R> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
1 A$ k1 u9 X# h% I> right back to the pitcher.
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0 f& M( E' _; g3 O; 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
# i/ }* i) D8 _: E5 c" i> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
9 ?# R- c$ W5 l) @# ]& z$ {& g> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
1 X/ g) L% ~* Q' ]- t9 [' i# S6 o> 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,
2 L. f4 E  g3 V5 C8 A# ]> wide-eyed and startled.
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& [' x* F" ^! e" z1 k/ x> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> 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
> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
( l* v2 m+ T5 ^3 L, t> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
* L2 [4 r; V: V. J' q0 ?- u; ~> 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
3 s5 ]: g  C) k5 Y> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
) I& |5 d1 F& L5 P> circled the bases toward home.
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, ?" [6 O8 c. o> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
! I6 Z+ T& [  a; S> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
% x0 w! F# c9 i4 Y6 g> Shay, run to third!'
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> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
; B8 t. L, m& I3 Z7 @0 t6 d> 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
* m3 w- b2 T2 [; V, @5 k9 x> game for his team.
>
> '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'.
>
4 @, n0 q. K  |> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
, j- V% h& {- e* z- c6 @: V> 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!
>
. n8 p* w# K9 k+ i4 i! \# n2 t2 ]> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
- ^" Q; _4 a4 H0 n# r+ k% K> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
1 e/ f( X9 b! P> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
/ l5 A0 v) @% l) F/ F% `> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
> 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
2 s% ~# V9 y  Z' ^( b9 \( D> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
+ t% n; B2 U2 e5 }) F> 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
> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
4 N( b. q8 L& R9 c" ?0 N> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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% ^4 `% n, e! o/ z2 [8 f+ `) Z> You now have two choices:
& Z3 i( c0 E6 P! f+ |> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.