Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
. A+ L1 k. E9 m4 _/ h> 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,
2 ]/ w. l% @' t> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
2 y! ^* ^! q( j$ a3 O> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
. ?" v! y& `# H. y6 U> staff, he offered a question:
>
; z( u1 p* n3 [6 r/ \" @) ]9 v0 C> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
% S1 {. x2 e! \: _5 v> 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, T; z+ P! m; D" N>
$ `7 N" L) p, S4 G2 ~! a> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> 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
# e( N  I# f2 L/ b> treat that child.'
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- V- c1 B3 l" R- ]$ u- P> 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
% H6 E8 Z. j  D% n5 @" N> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
' q9 ~* I. i% L5 m$ O  |> 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
3 q. |& ?2 |. x  A" P3 \2 N4 I> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
3 }" ~2 ]$ ?. h' \1 a  b2 S# {/ r>
/ s, [0 i) |; r& Z> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
+ |% Z4 K: _) W* w% Y8 h7 y> 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
> inning.'
6 {. Q- r* t4 u$ r$ d$ Y9 y>
4 F: j" g, A& R, e> 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
7 \! v' E0 j* H0 W1 u& w- U' ]2 ]> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
, ^* I+ D+ f$ v) }# j5 B> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
" u) [5 y; u4 h; J( V% @  A> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
: d0 z7 B& Q- _> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
0 B5 O& \' t' C' ^> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
1 L7 {3 n& M! T6 V' R> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
( r. [* {) i2 Q: a7 l2 x> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
5 i; Y% F, n7 n- V& _% n2 S( W> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
+ n4 N, L9 J8 K7 Z" ?> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
" Q- u/ y" S# Z4 b  c, ?> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
> much less connect with the ball.
; y7 `* s( W- A: P8 Y, L  B> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
6 l& }/ e$ ]; w: U> 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
> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
: c, |3 J; N: I1 B7 t> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
  ^, S5 w- V9 l; ^; w; Z/ i> right back to the pitcher.
>
6 f4 N% ^% F: S( `! d5 l> 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
' L; m! ]0 C  p4 X> 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
. T& s% H: j  J* s  x' o5 v> 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,
5 e4 m) h% U$ T4 I7 t% z. h> wide-eyed and startled.
7 P2 N" }* m) ^* N; T& E% |>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
( X% ?  d  @' n# ^- V> 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
. o5 t" c- Z. @. L1 m> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
& J" V3 y# ]# K! s$ O4 k  r> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
. N! D+ Y! K4 S* Q9 ?# T& i# y> 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!
. V  A& R' u- N1 \; \$ f; V' {> Shay, run to third!'
>
4 K) H- B; Q6 R( U> 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
& O  R& ?; }- J- m% r( X) E  i/ a( a8 i> game for his team.
>
> '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'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
2 D) M5 a/ ]( O6 y# i$ v> 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
- `$ T& \5 l* d' F$ e  u> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
: F$ \/ _# O9 |: L> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
: D8 r( N' _+ ^2 ~+ i- l> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
* A8 R* v5 [) W; m. T4 E( A> 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
* B0 f; `! O3 _+ v. b( L) \> 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
> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
2 }# S& m) A% F! ^% M> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
% K5 a" a% q6 Q% b# `- Z) _( z> bit colder in the process?
, R4 b/ K) Y9 Y+ U9 {4 \  ]>
* O; c! \3 ^6 F2 t/ w" U> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
, X! C6 T) @  Q/ o% o& G! ~>
$ ^4 k' I( t, n+ ?> You now have two choices:
. H) O% {+ }  ~* @/ Z9 M5 B/ R) y> 1. Delete
5 Q5 k0 U' o1 L0 O> 2. Forward
>
- A" M! X3 k4 N! _5 z$ E, D> May your day, be a Shay Day.