Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
' m4 A6 j- U' [: h> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
>
! a2 i. i! {" `/ J/ W> 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
> staff, he offered a question:
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+ V8 K9 S6 d1 U3 _4 t7 D" N/ @* c> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> 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
3 Y, Q# ^% o( \# M+ T; N& u> natural order of things in my son?'
>
3 `; W7 Z! S  b. k) j  U4 G> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
, a5 t* ~3 J& S8 x% a2 q> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
3 m3 \) E! Q: b> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
> 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
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
  p) I4 F4 \. ~# l8 ^: g/ N> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
/ c. \/ {4 y5 O3 K. H> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
% m; M! N' e" s& 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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9 O  ^* B$ y# T> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
6 i3 G) H% j$ Y, _" @5 r* ^! O> 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
> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
$ a$ c) u& D1 e1 q- H: k4 d2 g> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
. {! A7 W0 ?& _> 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
> 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
7 N+ i! P+ t5 L, p1 P  e# k! G$ P* }* i> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
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% `+ ~+ d5 S! i* @% K8 }> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
, Y( p; r- u" W* X# x, M3 n7 n3 A; W> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
- m6 K6 M; n/ G# I" _> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
) ^0 c9 E5 @2 g& F% v  y+ f6 a> 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
. _1 e8 F4 @( Z( W. E- U1 }> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
( d) |6 R* S4 H* }8 i, @6 H> 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.
> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
: d! ^8 o$ z# E) t> right back to the pitcher.
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. K/ ^6 R0 Z# h# ^# I  C7 t> 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
% l1 u7 O/ t: `$ S, Z; x/ Y. R> out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
1 z+ u3 R9 q. Q* t> 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
4 p9 y6 k4 @2 A6 B& V& U! I> 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,
> 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
3 u9 s  |2 t  x> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
- B" F: z5 L& z8 W9 e  U9 [4 {> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
; G4 Z# S: s* n) d) z8 R& @> 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.
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. ]  x5 g8 O" o& X& f> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
: n; O0 ~# ?, `+ z4 W/ {' t% \) ^% i' D> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
# t3 f" o; K: C. g# L6 D. L> Shay, run to third!'
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2 o' l2 x/ q% j2 ~1 R> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
& [' S: a6 A7 e' s5 |> 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.
>
> '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
6 G8 X1 t& T5 A. W! F: R> into this world'.
>
9 V/ C5 t  j. @> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
5 k& K* H! V, f9 a- U% h$ w> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
/ _8 P" u# g9 _; _" K> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
! ~& ~. b. N* w$ ~& B& V% z> 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
& @5 x; o. ~4 @> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
% x" p; ^2 Z: y3 I3 B> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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> 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
6 R" u8 W# x1 y5 l8 _> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
9 P' o& \) r- s. H6 Z2 Z9 m> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
4 C$ g, h# q( ]. ^8 G( M# Y. ^' s> 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
/ z3 Y: I  j+ K0 N4 \" ?, N> bit colder in the process?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
3 ^/ c. k. ]: H- r* l> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.