Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
1 R$ Q( o; R; \0 M> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
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> 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+ U  e! |/ i* G> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
% Y" T5 @: N4 e1 m) G9 L> '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
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
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: ?$ q" `1 ]4 Y, {9 k( `8 P> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
2 c8 o  G* U8 x! W9 d8 o' l> 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.'
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  ?" c9 b  u6 m5 i* w# |/ ~) J5 Q> 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
8 }- x5 U, i( h6 ?" G: b6 @> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
7 X) ~" v9 B( q! J8 O9 |> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
# L, a6 j* q/ j+ h6 x4 E" J3 o# |> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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  b) m3 U4 t/ |/ R: q+ x6 l0 e> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
5 V/ {  M. G! E0 w% d$ G> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
. l6 |2 l' o. r/ s9 m> 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.'
>
> 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
> 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
2 v; r/ ^: }  k) Q  j> 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
9 y5 n. d' c2 l0 Y6 W> 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
( E# g* C$ T, v> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
; Z4 [+ H# l% ^4 C; m( S> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
( o; W0 V( C* J/ k) p7 q) K> much less connect with the ball.
, ?3 F6 R" k5 m8 u& q4 A> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
# ?% ~" g' s. d& N8 {> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
/ X0 h7 k5 r" w& C: \1 x/ c> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
7 [: N5 x; ?% x5 Q> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
( h3 L, k/ G9 R8 P& l, \$ V- Q& @> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
. [1 s  Z; h5 K; u' O> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
% W/ v2 ~" l) a3 k; \6 h> 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.
>
+ ^- o4 r9 a7 _3 f> 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
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
; _- m1 e7 |0 m5 |> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
! _# d2 `9 u5 V" F0 C5 y  n> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
% u0 h* g1 P1 {% s+ T* V/ ?0 U9 g> 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
> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
6 |: M! \6 V! U! G4 @+ w> circled the bases toward home.
>
* `7 j' C6 s) k; A6 z6 f> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
; N2 D" S; W; _8 V8 ^3 k> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
! V1 P; h% \) Z> Shay, run to third!'
>
% @3 p  r( W- `2 U/ Y# m> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
1 u' E  B- q2 [7 e- V: M> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
/ E7 L7 |; O- N> 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
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, Y) D& J8 N' ~: a! e> 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
2 w; \8 [) W, X! U( M> 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
! J& B: ~. g; s# F* q. {. A> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
/ B5 N; V4 r' b  ^* R> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
; s% S0 z6 O0 ?1 o" @" ]3 Q> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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' d7 Y7 u4 L4 E# s% v> 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
1 f% g7 W0 O! d; y$ U: F> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
) O- I; m- y3 z> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
) Z4 ?* z6 w, E, a% E/ d> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
, w5 N( w, O; I! z7 _. c) d> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
- y- }' |( g8 ^; k> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
: c8 {9 `" q& Z& V5 A8 c3 E: L, e> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
' R* R$ u. N! H3 D! P2 [( q> bit colder in the process?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
1 r7 g3 ^6 B5 X: z1 p> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
2 x' p; U. @; E0 ~" z4 S> You now have two choices:
- h8 P2 q: m3 p$ H; `  w> 1. Delete
/ E: L/ w( k. Z/ M2 U" U/ @9 E> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.