Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
7 ~! A8 x& w+ _' O> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
>
( |- I6 D2 i8 ?* U  P! l! t> 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
7 H' c( t, S4 T" G0 t) |> staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
& ^) b0 x3 n# i' 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?'
>
) c& Z( O; t' A' R1 N9 w> The audience was stilled by the query.
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  u8 ]$ }( U8 n+ f1 j9 i, m# d> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
' I2 V4 r! X+ u9 _4 u  A>
> 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
> 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
- A6 d+ G9 e. e3 {. W  N> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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8 \, e5 M. M  c1 C4 ~( g> 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
. i. ?4 j, a& J1 i> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
& r7 u8 Y; Q6 B$ t! n> 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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% t  E1 t3 S0 z1 o6 Q& ^& J  N  y* E. g> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
: k2 r* e+ D5 c* k> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
6 A' h5 m4 L4 m8 v3 C2 z4 l> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
8 g% ^3 E' q/ L> 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
5 U/ @6 l" z4 S> 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
7 x2 A. }. E/ e( m5 H> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
5 l4 l6 ]* I+ u, I/ D0 w> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
9 d$ B+ Q+ V3 n: I> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
8 I$ l7 @! V6 D( ?" S> 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
. H1 Q5 f) R+ V$ c/ B> 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
+ o+ S( Z' j+ e$ _> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
  [) L: f1 h& _  }> 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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/ {0 G" ?- w% i. f- n9 C) f) P> 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
' C) ]7 }7 |. c" o> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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7 ]" W5 y& f, U! L* W& S> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
; p$ F) R& I. L8 m> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
( G, v1 j) G) [  F1 ?> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
. y0 K  C$ p2 W: P% ^  l5 w> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
, J  k/ K' b0 l/ F2 z! Z> wide-eyed and startled.
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> 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
3 X0 A, _+ f) c; H0 _7 u> 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
> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
& a. s1 `% _! y' I) J> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
- o4 y$ U. G) R( @> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
7 _, Z8 R  s) W& `' }( W> Shay, run to third!'
>
5 c* Z( V0 b: W' {. _- k: q9 P* F> 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
+ ~( `5 k' @4 m# `/ P/ P: L# o> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
3 R% R8 U/ l8 V" y0 K3 Y> game for his team.
>
, [2 |9 Y( @; R3 E4 j- K> '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'.
>
9 w0 @$ c! K0 i> 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
' m. K; E5 \7 |) s> 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
4 H6 M( J* K% G6 n; e* I0 c> 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
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
4 |& ^5 K8 K) A1 A; }>
> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
8 f& Y# a" Z# @$ g% n> 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
; O! C  m& Z9 l; L9 X3 v& H( [( k> 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
3 b0 Z' K, F! v9 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?
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& z' a" U5 S$ q5 m7 h5 a> A wise man once said every society is judged by
0 G( r& s, C1 [- n; [> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
, J4 h1 s7 }2 A& L> 2. Forward
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: ?$ w. Z. F( U8 l( F8 f6 T3 \* \> May your day, be a Shay Day.