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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> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
, s0 n7 c$ @$ c> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
5 H6 t& G% r2 J> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
, J/ r' C9 K, ~> staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
; u4 q$ C$ |) t$ g7 b9 y6 s! O> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
>
5 k, s6 |+ }! o  H% X$ O8 u( ~8 R> The audience was stilled by the query.
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> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
- G( O! B+ w4 j2 ?9 ^; W; }2 ^> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
& ?/ X3 e4 s1 g7 A& j/ j. E> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
$ }, L/ z1 G7 E% D+ O$ `> Then he told the following story:
>
% P9 f+ ~7 T$ Q! o1 H( G4 m> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
9 ^8 |9 f) b6 }. x  Q' E> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
0 F& U/ [# h1 T' |6 K7 s% @8 I# k> 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,
- b3 w+ b" A) D( z& P> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
0 S3 @' k( P7 k" l+ W, m& y> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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  i/ z6 [. R% V7 ~> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
3 J" I1 g% F9 r1 ?" W> 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.'
>
" T6 @; S5 w8 S' ~> 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
> 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
( i' r4 Z9 ~& _* L7 j1 l> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
0 S* I( E* F9 w> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
' m, Y/ m2 ?1 y* R$ _3 ^> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
( M/ }2 }  Y. e* \* a> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
/ X* `5 f6 j- p8 M& m  b7 y> next at bat.
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6 L8 M6 `* B% d# I> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
! g7 o5 I1 B; H' q9 H2 @> 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
! ^" Q/ b3 d& N> 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
* w/ ]+ t) t( g/ D  X* d: 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.
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/ {' k6 \6 Y4 d1 {; N) s> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
1 F- i/ Z4 U/ Y( Z) N5 |5 Z3 y0 q7 u> 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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) H, e1 }. H' I/ Y# f> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
" M8 x- o9 f/ [  v/ Q  g" ]> 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,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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( u, w$ O- A+ @: M' D4 x> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
! R  L. ^7 j+ U> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
4 p3 Z! J! ?) Z1 R> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
5 v3 p: t. i$ l+ n5 D  l4 p> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
+ d5 ^3 }7 ^) f6 T. \. ~> 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.
>
( o9 C5 d8 K. \> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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/ b" p" j8 ?7 p8 @> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
; }. J7 d1 k' S+ Y& n> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
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5 m8 |' a+ |: h9 _3 V> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
9 z# J- v! |1 l1 |# L9 h> 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
! B" T7 f& g" M- j% q" p  p> 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!
>
> 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
> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
' {! R* \+ |$ [> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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& m3 h5 T6 X: }: p& _> 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
: ~( U; v$ d! n0 X6 E1 v> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
7 H* z. T7 K  S6 m> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
4 [' e5 h# |1 T; G) k> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
, v. g. I5 S8 |9 M0 ?4 I> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
0 {9 v& F$ s8 v( j9 a; w7 h" j> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
( |1 C( J* J3 Y9 E1 |5 ~> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
4 H8 G: c; b' U7 _  l> bit colder in the process?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
9 ~# I% T9 n2 p) x) s) _- f> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
  C2 b; v: e8 F9 I4 V+ V; {> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
6 `1 d/ E9 H, h$ W: H> 2. Forward
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0 j; S/ |1 l) p4 j' [0 X8 n> May your day, be a Shay Day.