Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> 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?
>
> 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
- M" H% h5 q5 S2 D9 S  `> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
>
! M9 X3 N; E& p2 q. S" R) u> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
: ?  y. K1 H) B$ ^> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
6 [1 W! q8 G% b6 O3 F5 A- g>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
: G3 j2 l/ U; _1 H- B> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
1 ~) F; \& a3 B& w9 G4 J* A> 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
2 Q" I. K# e8 a' E5 p> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
0 r5 o" f- A( r( ~% P; ?# i, S- K2 ^> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
1 B& q0 l! O. p6 l6 b> 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
, W" h! n" g% U> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
- E  U  A9 c% i- D# i% V> 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
4 P7 S5 U9 ]0 h1 [' B/ [9 h+ C> 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
0 k8 r; }# h  h. O( R0 K> 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
1 B( R4 I4 Y) U, ^! t8 W7 n" @9 R- N( D> 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
5 y/ d1 U& Z/ [  ]: `> 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
> 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
* {! m! ]% O$ q/ t. o6 f# [- _> next at bat.
) B0 J# R- Y  O" n>
2 ]9 i) {3 [5 ~" c> 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,
1 L* X' \7 m+ ~" ]( [1 a+ }7 g> much less connect with the ball.
7 o5 [$ B1 O( P  A> 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
1 G1 R: Z6 W1 L0 \' R; u2 ?> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
  d' O& I% e1 x, [9 J) X> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
5 f% U: D; Z! \, p6 F* O. u> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
, `4 ?, Y6 J1 b' N> 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
4 w$ Y) Z8 m2 k5 @! y& p+ Z1 W> 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.
9 U/ N, r; w8 M7 t1 ?% b>
9 ~2 s' n! u7 G7 \7 {' E> 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,
4 x& P1 f& K# J, Z% ^' w/ I> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> 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
- e) F0 E: o) {+ m) j" n$ Y' w. B- Y> 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,
' U9 g. v$ b6 ~7 m9 |- f2 |> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
7 Z: B' V, {  k: c' a/ W; m) w1 A> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
: b" a9 s2 \  }: \> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
/ k; S7 N& I$ H, m7 m; r9 C0 j$ _>
> 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!
' K2 p. i  u+ u2 s3 G! R% t> Shay, run to third!'
- E6 p' N7 _' T' ~( Q& `' @  Y>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
> 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
" p3 ]3 z9 _5 K; ~, ~0 i$ P> game for his team.
>
! K" P4 t: x, c8 r> '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
7 S% r: o3 e) O, z) N* k5 ~7 B: A> into this world'.
8 E4 ]! A- h! S' U7 k3 C  E; s& Z>
  M/ n) c9 z( j5 v> 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
> 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
> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
$ B* W0 }  @. n* a0 U* Q* g& K> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
$ F0 K$ D9 \+ ^* j> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
; h3 D" ^5 c7 N0 ]9 m) T> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
! F. s  ?+ N0 g8 R4 D: W> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
' x$ X" V' n6 v2 V% T2 {1 D> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
2 W# U0 v+ I/ c7 V  h> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
3 I, }( l# e( D0 m; u& _> 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
> bit colder in the process?
- C# ?# I6 ]9 o: ~4 ~>
1 E* [! w/ s4 M! @  J2 ^5 f- W> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
* I! P! g# F: t5 O9 F) ~/ y1 n> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
  r# X6 N: [: \' ~: E  k> May your day, be a Shay Day.