Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
, f/ a+ b: d5 l1 K/ b# e2 K0 y. F> 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,
& x% [  ^' a5 [# Y( g3 I: K1 e# w> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
; a/ m! Q' d9 B2 h6 j> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
2 J2 T! t$ l% E' K& \> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
- [0 F& q) k) b: U& B$ z. e% d$ 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?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
' U( H2 ?/ Z. G> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
$ O/ T- p* A; V> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
# f9 t" z2 [8 C( a# [9 ]0 y0 i> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
. n1 f0 j" j+ A# `6 F# ]> 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,
+ ~! ~8 L. [  a" Y. v5 L> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
* y, Y/ h  g5 b4 l7 u> 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
> inning.'
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1 M) |& {% ?# ~/ ]" |4 c' U> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
7 }, K7 }  Z0 @, K5 \> 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
! b6 N4 @' {* G7 ?> 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
; f  K$ S4 F7 J' C$ J> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
  e1 {6 }. w: p+ r$ p: {& ?> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
6 {9 P* H4 k2 A> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
+ B$ q: e) g8 ?& o  Y& n> next at bat.
>
$ Q4 [' y9 N- E$ v, o. R  _6 [> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
! t7 L& u- U. d' O) |5 v> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
- \5 I  p7 D/ S( @> 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
4 q/ u, A0 g& ^7 h# X" a> 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.
; k% q7 N7 d, s1 n. {> 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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- C; O5 ~( z/ p( x; a> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
- u. m7 S6 l4 ^& }/ T5 i# L1 W> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
  s, _1 G  [( X4 y5 K% |> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
' Y% N7 x% N( j3 V> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
# W! C5 J7 I( j( E7 H6 U& z> 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
/ Z6 K' q0 }% @6 n# m> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> 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
; s4 ?, h4 ^  i7 w1 g9 _* i  ^> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
3 T0 [: e. v2 h: A5 w2 w2 t. M> 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
2 \9 @( v9 n* x8 W  i4 d) _8 E> 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
4 Q8 n4 l( D* m7 o8 q> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
& a# j' k; O6 f> circled the bases toward home.
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  r1 l1 h8 X2 V, o> 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!
6 n* I1 P  m5 D" u8 C! u> Shay, run to third!'
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> 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
3 _# A) h0 B( e0 x> 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
' V0 K3 s$ @: |" K2 P% d> into this world'.
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. Y  n  U% |  l2 x0 ?% K' N> 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
+ e) `" L8 `0 p. H$ C! n> 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
4 p/ Z# z: n2 w6 M> 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
+ Z$ k- @5 H7 D4 E" j' ?% j> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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, G5 F8 d" e8 K- v> 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
> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
0 z( {! r! `' Q! K5 k3 R> 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
6 B: D4 y/ s# u/ q, ^, x" @> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
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1 M+ {  O# r& o) P3 Z5 z: @> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
2 o$ g' W1 G9 r% E5 o: R& @> You now have two choices:
5 t# r$ b; T) y; L1 r; v> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.