Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
  B5 Z+ o& X& n2 J& O! I- f0 p: T> 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,
" P+ O3 M7 ^: T5 F4 c> 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
; y- u- H6 B& V0 X3 Q* ?> staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
3 {; Z. E5 {: q2 }9 b# i* h# B> 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?'
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4 x) o0 n8 j- P9 _! I1 x8 \( p, b> The audience was stilled by the query.
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> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
, X' i( h$ i5 s; Y* X> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
4 ~2 q4 I& Q; q' B- c1 v6 q$ j& ^> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
6 k- [6 l" G% p6 L! I7 J> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
' S7 \$ v& ]" `>
> 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
! Y$ h3 j! v$ I> 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.
>
# }( f/ z& `& D5 F- F, T> 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
> 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
* j. C( N3 l4 P& o+ v3 |> inning.'
>
& q- U6 t8 z. P, k* }2 l> 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
# i. Q. n6 i& E' y8 U> 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
& k* S9 s9 p( @# Q3 Z1 x& i> 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
. l7 G1 \( r. ^) e, o( g. a> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
  H6 G9 \; G% i) o, N" ]  g>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
( Z! c( X$ S! V9 C( r8 Y> 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
3 P1 q% Y  a# F' X> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
3 ?; |6 p& G& v0 S$ a. ~: F> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
2 {& W2 j3 M* Z" B: y/ x> 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
> 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.
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3 a. s; T+ w" Q/ [> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
7 F# {0 m6 e$ s1 }7 w> 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,
" H" `5 J3 K) B. E> wide-eyed and startled.
>
; Q+ a; p' ^/ u) S( D1 b; Q0 ]- z> 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
: U. R/ e( [! @/ l' a3 ^0 t$ e> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
, L2 j" i5 J) L  \& s+ U> 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
0 B* U% C3 N: S> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
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9 W+ K! i4 R5 k5 p  G+ c7 _> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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( G: u& n' G* m" V* X> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
6 w9 F% F- L) U# K+ G3 [5 U* {> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
8 z2 y# I3 ^0 J  k> 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
4 Q9 A( p. q) g> game for his team.
% j/ `7 R, Z( a: W. X2 @>
  s  R3 ^# H+ u2 o# F- ]1 y/ o> '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
  S, J( K- M) C1 a/ P) _5 Q> into this world'.
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> 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!
>
- E5 D# f* v- q> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
- X9 g8 G6 n! E$ e& m- C> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
/ ^: Y$ G; L9 L7 K8 e9 z0 N> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
. @3 E. B6 Z- g. Y- }: a> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
& V' y7 p- Y( _> 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
$ y$ W9 _* A' R1 `. u: H> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
# b5 u' _- {, |0 L; ?3 M> 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
, X4 \9 K# Z3 r4 W; T> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
4 C& f# B  N8 K5 r" s% R> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.