Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> 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?
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2 y7 o4 e" e. T$ B+ n- x; g1 }> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
; }% f: \( ~+ c8 B9 R: |. m( _> 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:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
+ l+ o7 z# ^: g) D: p/ c> 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
4 v5 W7 D7 X; c7 D) ~& C- X: O4 k* p> natural order of things in my son?'
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3 C6 i5 G, r, q. H1 ?0 i9 t> The audience was stilled by the query.
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. c) F9 T. w: Y/ v# W% i> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
$ W/ E9 S  Y! |$ _* N' V> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
" h$ ], q: e( Y3 w& j" Y+ w> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
2 ]& }1 X# ?( J) D' H" A> treat that child.'
>
! ?, K( y1 p6 Z" ]0 S> Then he told the following story:
>
. [2 a" _3 X( q7 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
; [$ U0 h. X: d/ h7 T0 E5 j> 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
* }) e" C; F2 d7 W. }  ?" p> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
& ]6 Q2 R" j# g; ?5 ]+ F1 [> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
& r7 b% u) {. b/ K( y5 T6 ]> 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
! ]2 t% t. e9 Z# |. x" _9 }& p6 o> 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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4 N7 K5 l5 `, l. F5 [> 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
> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
( G) x4 j' z- o> 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
> 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
/ `8 w  y' q+ l0 d, Y> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
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+ G) D! {5 g/ [. ]$ N9 i> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
5 d5 U$ J( ^7 i9 U2 {' q& c8 r> 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
8 {- L( d! j' Y/ s* @> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
/ c" u. a6 a, M: [2 x3 s$ `9 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.
> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
8 q4 h+ ^% f4 @4 p> right back to the pitcher.
>
! ^- J9 q* [: @- E# O> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
) H9 j4 r" J% h> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
/ x% ^! g+ p6 T4 C> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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8 V2 T6 @; v$ \& F) H: [> 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,
( h8 G( x* W- p8 ]> 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
> 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
- |0 x7 |3 g3 F4 p> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
; h# p. y0 q9 d> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
. c9 |' z! N; `/ q- P4 F7 B; q> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
/ B% [* {+ F7 H, t> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
" G2 {) X6 A9 F/ r; [  @: U> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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# l+ T, c7 v6 e" W2 v3 r* L4 T> 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!
> Shay, run to third!'
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$ h* X) y, }8 t2 U+ d( D4 _: x> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
: c$ o9 u1 W/ J> 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
1 @1 {  B4 }1 l, ^! e+ \> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
- B; D. q4 l# t2 ]' H& `> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
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  v# J7 ]. g1 j+ K: ^> 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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# o1 R' Y3 i, P> 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
. ^- A. n, t! J# Q> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
# G. i; _& P. p6 h: K# y> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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6 o0 {/ p: t, \> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
# n/ R$ J/ l# ~3 s3 g> 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
5 Q  L  n2 q/ ^> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
3 n3 d1 f  q5 P2 s2 x> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
# y& J8 K0 w$ d! r" U6 D> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
. h& r0 E8 W0 f1 \& [# j3 x8 T! w. ]> 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
! g) ?& w8 ^/ N1 n> bit colder in the process?
>
5 @5 `! M- g: s' K> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
  s' [1 j, j, a% Y> 1. Delete
4 {* J  L- F4 o  w# u2 R1 f> 2. Forward
>
4 }7 l/ ]& L6 @  [! z: q- k* i8 m! q. S> May your day, be a Shay Day.