Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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  i  T% g+ G. y5 L/ q, l* p( 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
3 W% X8 w/ I- V8 V6 q/ C! H> same choice?
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> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
! S0 m! W* j3 v0 f8 \> 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
# ^# G9 a6 S% }5 R0 ^> staff, he offered a question:
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* e4 m! n  z7 r. r% r/ Q> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
: B% e- [8 z" c/ j1 n9 u- D! L/ |> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
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4 q# I/ F% o; U4 {' U4 }. c> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
  A! ~* q8 z3 d$ S> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
6 I- q/ G* T2 w/ _> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
: y( h& y% G! [1 U2 U0 n4 {# |, A> treat that child.'
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, {- S4 u- P2 w$ S7 q! g> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
- s2 x5 o9 J- U( T# g; @6 Y; g8 N> 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
# |& d( C4 K6 `( N+ n0 p. ?/ O> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
7 m" h1 g* ], e* x  h- g5 W> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
+ l4 q1 s6 f3 ?( k, m> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
$ Y! G! Z& p; ]: o> 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
1 w1 G  I$ s( w7 }  y7 G& m# C0 E> 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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> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
& B" \' b  J' C1 U5 k0 D> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
6 a% ~, q+ S5 b6 j! G. M8 z7 @> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
+ G5 y& g" U- S6 A4 B> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
0 f" Z' _3 v6 l: p) G; G> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
- ]( w( N1 P4 c. }; B' g> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
8 C5 E  E( P1 p: ^+ k  W! a> 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
3 Z8 j" ?; a  m; J: a6 j1 n% Q% _& [> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
9 U. M0 _$ B& r! b> 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
4 F* s/ N3 \  T7 i9 s' U$ @5 T> 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
4 ^- z9 o! N6 t# r# W5 g> 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.
8 j. l/ M" K8 l+ ^9 G4 }9 z- G) E& B> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
% S3 q0 \6 k9 u5 r> 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.
>
, s/ q) L+ A' N" X/ ?0 M> 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,
2 G2 I2 [, v. T& p. F> 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
7 @  s8 E8 ^7 B4 z9 f> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
6 F  R6 q+ k7 f> 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,
, F9 q7 \; d9 [/ D, [4 G! q> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
, q+ l& w) X1 C' w8 H9 z> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
/ q% w$ q+ n$ p0 n> circled the bases toward home.
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  t7 o- O- z. W) [+ |' Y+ x> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
' v6 u$ Q7 w7 [+ k# a> 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!
6 g; |9 y8 B4 p" |> Shay, run to third!'
>
/ R* E- g/ t, |; J6 }/ p> 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.
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4 a  C, u. J' o$ A; M( ]  \> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
- i1 T" _& c& L' {. `- P9 |% Z# E> '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
> 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!
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> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
1 I, o  _- E( c& N3 q! y  n, d> 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
) M6 y7 }1 g1 H: Q> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
6 ~7 P9 Y% ^% u5 ?* b> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
. u6 K2 f4 I+ L. b& M9 s> 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
> 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
> 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.
>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.