Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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/ K+ @+ O: |  D* |  `: }  A' h3 C/ d> 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,
/ t1 E# k3 [: X> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
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. h' Z! q1 h' H) s* V> '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
. {$ R! d2 }: D% h3 J( `> natural order of things in my son?'
>
& x/ O* O; k! Q+ n> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
4 U& f! d8 @  d4 S, Q2 K( E0 Y, p* P> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
# D2 ~. t) E! @> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
: l2 H+ \3 t9 ]* [9 p> treat that child.'
4 A, P" C* [% [! e>
> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
5 f* B  n! l- V> 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,
+ G% n4 x" I0 ?- h; C8 E& J" ^; Z> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
3 n5 f7 z7 f! P+ g) O7 J> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
) z1 }% }7 l. c( L+ @> 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
% v% D7 T; m! W8 v- C# Z) d> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
. Q, d% E1 K/ U" y2 {> 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
5 Y  Y; u( t6 L! L8 r/ X8 \> 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
! j( u8 O( g4 B, W# C+ S> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
* S3 `! ?- o! M! ^> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
> 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
> 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
> 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
1 z9 d: h& T/ `% F. ]2 D: a/ L* j- H> 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
7 a% H+ Y" \- I# l> right back to the pitcher.
>
1 z! J5 @" Z, A4 c9 Q4 s' q> 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.
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> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
3 J6 T7 c, A/ L; G1 t. j% I+ z> 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
1 f0 y/ ]6 w% v> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> 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
> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
  [1 z+ x4 ?8 Q* A$ v9 M> 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
' w& K7 ], S& }; H! ~- l> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
2 X) E% d2 X2 a  n) O0 S. g> circled the bases toward home.
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> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
; H+ T5 m: P) Q* |% I5 S. s0 E> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
' n* W2 U5 U: H4 |> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
( O/ z% H* G7 w> Shay, run to third!'
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> 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
0 \2 g; F3 I5 s7 K> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
% s& Y& ]  G9 J> game for his team.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
1 L0 P, d* Q* U+ w> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
& ]% \6 i) \5 K/ T! \& Y& e" q. ]> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
8 }: j7 ^. C! s6 L: W5 ^" w/ @! ~, O> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
! B/ C6 C, ?. k$ m; ]  t/ n) Y> 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
7 k  b6 `) C! M3 S> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
0 T* G& F0 B8 {> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
$ |3 F; P' @' r; M  J' I> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
+ D! O, s/ P5 K( M, X( W: f> 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
9 l& X1 f) T5 q1 ?0 p' Y. E$ v# v> '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
& }9 P) B7 P, T* l> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
, ~; c" p) h4 s5 \5 ~8 W  [> 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?
>
> 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:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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$ h& q+ g0 l, F$ V& M> May your day, be a Shay Day.