Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
/ z; ^+ S" I+ |. Q4 Q* c; X> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
. p6 a2 u- C' H% l> 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
# O( g( f. S) E. H> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
2 {7 c  B" H2 u2 k) E7 y> 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
> 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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> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
9 |# ]3 b% n) r  B: ?> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
> 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
: A% f4 ?1 O( W2 R9 @> 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
0 v2 L) G' D+ O% X0 j> 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.
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1 w& n: @; V' A+ G" F> 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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& V' U9 @/ O3 h! l> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
! U% z  {4 ]0 K0 ?6 F> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
! G' a9 d; r: b; w3 l/ }> 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
3 B8 E; ~' a  Y8 W4 ^> 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
6 y# F3 e, y, M- V> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
% y1 n" q2 i/ a  f4 [> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
0 O9 L4 S; P$ z+ ~5 m5 d5 \6 D+ d> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
( ?) L! C+ `# I, ~" i9 o; y> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
> 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,
> much less connect with the ball.
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
6 Q1 E8 i6 G' {$ c( y+ M5 F> 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
6 o9 |" [, U0 W> 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.
> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
> 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.
>
; G, `- g" I2 P> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
# B* V- U* b  S5 F! \> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
5 {9 |! ~4 W, Z! d$ U) z> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
% B" j7 y6 P/ {1 ~> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
% l" F# C2 S4 o> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
4 v9 \" z, _+ k7 A8 q> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
/ c* j7 S! N, i. K4 A2 X> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
9 r' J# E5 W/ O. p2 U* N> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
" b" c! y" O' \8 E$ h. ]> 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
1 T, |9 W: D6 S9 {> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
" @7 ?! b9 V8 i> circled the bases toward home.
>
  V1 Z( I* J+ M& S! i2 A: t/ @> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
4 `7 ~* z1 a( ?3 B; r% ^3 r> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
1 s- b9 t4 A8 L8 r, f% `> Shay, run to third!'
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> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
- \, a& |. k" P> 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.
>
% W( u, D$ [6 E! _' W$ C> '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'.
>
1 V* f- `8 u& f  {, c, t> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
4 r; x: `) |+ P% O, G> 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
+ [3 A2 r7 B8 L0 g3 A! m; q> 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
$ g; r9 v0 O- b' P> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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* V; ^0 k6 o- B8 s0 J+ W> 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
8 e5 x1 V/ e2 q- U) s4 d4 o4 q> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
, q8 {+ C, N4 `1 m> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
' q" p) A, n0 i, z: x1 j2 w) W> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
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9 p- J6 [6 Q1 g> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
% |3 D) p% K- u& w7 U: R> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
, X1 e# w$ ?# g! f; p* |8 Z> May your day, be a Shay Day.