Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
) _# q' j  H% v' V> 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
> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
% N  F7 j5 r2 F4 }1 X0 k, ~> staff, he offered a question:
' ?& S( H  {# F( z>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
4 |2 ?, w+ s0 T7 r. A> 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?'
>
6 L" w/ [, [: |2 q$ l( W> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
+ ?' P, s& s: y3 h> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
" ^* e% I" V3 A- l" {. [* H> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
" s$ W2 n" j+ G> treat that child.'
>
' W! u8 X1 U, K1 M& Z: i. D> Then he told the following story:
>
> 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
> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
+ t+ e. ^% }  y+ ]) ^> 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.
>
2 O- q( x4 `; N' ?> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
5 p# w) f' i* U# u8 b! Z  E> 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
3 s* c- q4 X8 K' W+ ^> inning.'
9 M: j7 E' ~. j; A5 H8 X2 P3 r>
' {: {8 L+ u. P7 e4 {2 ^3 N+ `> 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
> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
6 r) m. ~2 R& E" ], H: X. T> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
  _5 i% S; z; m& x. z> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
" g: ~" ]$ P) u" Z/ y9 G1 d4 Y1 m> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
' H9 [+ N6 w# ^, R  K0 w> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
& u2 e6 r8 {+ s! u' P> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
1 Y$ D3 l4 Z- S$ x> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
! b2 U0 c* Z  T4 B! ?1 n5 C> much less connect with the ball.
) c! r0 ?9 g6 H> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
9 q% E% \9 ]1 h" C2 D) X0 L9 b> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
. G" V- C; D$ D: H. m1 g5 Q! s1 A> 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
& S& b5 `$ A! T> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
* H5 }% }3 w5 _3 l' l> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
1 O4 i. Z3 |& I8 A> 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.
4 E/ x# Q1 t6 ^; _- i0 {>
# s" e8 G+ W6 _+ F> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
7 p5 u& t& o2 ^  W3 K4 I> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
$ h6 d1 |) X; w3 Q  \> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
7 G: g" U4 W. d% m; J4 J> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
>
: s. r( }9 J( [$ y  n> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
! `7 V* p. O$ x- ~: \. j' B; _> 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
$ [- V2 l; N& z) Q& s> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
3 J: l. {, c/ q; Q) H; _/ t> 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
+ p1 x. H4 }2 [> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> 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!
+ J( x8 H8 Y5 b, v" A$ p! l4 u% U> Shay, run to third!'
5 w7 d. l2 r% |) ~" R>
/ Q+ a( v6 e+ ^- P# N> 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
> game for his team.
0 d' w: [& ~* D. |/ A5 G3 U6 n>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
/ G! K( I' q. K- C  B$ \, D1 Q3 A' ?. @> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
  J. Y. T. z0 F3 f! H- i/ a> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
: v; k& s; O- ^% Q. R3 H( S+ Q> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
+ J# h+ J  o& V1 x" H>
> 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
9 S& o) U# |' {0 C> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
% V, R( h) P3 f) i; x2 ^2 j3 j+ a> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
) M8 k) W' H( |> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
- s9 X$ {1 B8 Q$ {> 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
7 p0 c3 K6 l2 w1 h7 r- ?; C) ]> 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
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
6 e: X8 k6 a' e6 m8 n7 Z0 K8 m> 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.
: g- a- L+ @* Z% q( p9 y; f" m6 u>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.