Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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; o% Z$ a  r; k7 s8 r> 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
( s* o' c$ F( L> same choice?
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6 f" v3 I7 D9 o4 w> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
* m; @0 W5 R( x5 ]& |/ }> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
4 H4 w$ g8 I% S; u: U% d4 W> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
/ E6 c/ P% {( q- v$ u1 c% V> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
9 L, @1 z+ \! a4 ^3 R- e> 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?'
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& _3 }1 `1 }/ @9 o> The audience was stilled by the query.
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4 @8 o( k4 u( ?' I$ H0 v& N> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
% d2 u: V4 ~: X3 n' 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
6 }( K. O; g9 O3 ?' L" \> treat that child.'
>
  M& M" U9 _1 s6 O9 r  _> Then he told the following story:
>
) H6 k1 e$ C) S% @; A> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
) [( |5 ~) E' l, z0 ^5 @  o> 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
> 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
& A$ G* w5 k9 U. v) N' k- H* \- k> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
. ]# V8 U" f% U, R> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
' ^; e7 R8 a! `$ \2 v7 r> 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
! Q: d+ S! k* G, b9 _. r: p> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
! B+ [4 }- X# ]) `4 n& S9 L> 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
( W% ?3 G3 c5 T0 e% N1 U4 _  Q> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
! s/ ^0 {4 f; x/ G/ B6 {0 ]> 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
! Q' j$ d2 x9 I6 a: E! r> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
7 o9 ?7 b  x3 v> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
5 ~$ m$ w. `+ ?. ]" j& ~. K> next at bat.
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' M* l9 r* w! ?6 n% l. A- X. ?> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
: t; e# ^0 Z. W/ G3 K> 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.
7 R! v4 X7 Z% j; M> 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
> 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
) d& r$ H, E+ y; q6 i6 Q> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
6 h' ^& \5 J. O; @$ x  q> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
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> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
; C0 x$ K9 j5 x6 e' w  T3 |% [8 w> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
0 E6 l5 U) d* q; |) k* h> 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
+ u! r) K! p& l/ a, p6 p# B4 t> 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
- d7 t" ~, X- B/ @9 j> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
/ X# o0 i8 D- ^4 t( ~7 T6 c7 ^. M> wide-eyed and startled.
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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
* M8 D4 P5 a: s; ]> 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
> 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
* n8 N0 v1 S. q9 Z- y+ k> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
5 j  w$ G9 K6 L, P2 |> circled the bases toward home.
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, |) z/ D( @( i3 I> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
1 j- s( h$ \# i( z! C9 e* O> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
5 v2 T5 ]' P8 i0 y> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
0 }; B1 r; F% @% [2 z2 S2 ?$ v> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
  |: e1 b* `& P> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
& [' E, V5 n; a  }( \> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
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> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
9 }4 e, ~/ i/ f2 G4 D7 Y7 {7 P4 i> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
  H8 p! ~, L* Q4 i! e( h7 H* [> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
- X4 v) B/ O! m( {> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
7 @) V( ~5 |' X$ c" X/ n$ j> 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
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
7 `7 o  Z8 Z4 [! J> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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1 e, U- p3 k5 V; ?$ q) k6 \" a> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
: k& F) i; K7 u) u4 [> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
: u' s3 H% S# H- z6 j  C> '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
; g/ o; t! z( \" z' {> 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
( y* s& x2 E6 i! o. S> 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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: b5 `% q+ f" u$ S0 }* {> You now have two choices:
3 k: Q4 D9 x! Z' U, c! \> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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* b9 E+ S3 |8 x5 X) K% X> May your day, be a Shay Day.