Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
% J) X" S8 U& q> 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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. o8 X' o  z' Q; ^# S> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
% F1 V" a9 x& q8 \# m- V> 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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1 h' A# T& t1 R5 O> '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
5 h. N. W8 o3 r) f. j& Y> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
! M4 z' ^+ V4 z: f# x8 q2 r/ h> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
# _. ~9 [- [. g; I! ?* @9 G> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
6 {9 K! m; C; v8 ?> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
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4 S2 g, a. o& C0 c! H% V- F> 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.
  p( h' a9 z7 u5 q>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
) u7 |  `% {& Q5 G/ n5 T> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
2 _5 W  m' V3 a, s) f0 ~$ j> 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.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
; W, u7 m+ O$ U& M8 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
% I4 o6 K. L6 S9 a. K> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
- W0 g& \. |7 i( z> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
" \; w9 W9 S: @! N5 G2 b/ u+ e> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
2 c8 y; f; h/ k1 E0 I7 M1 `. V> 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
5 w5 O( K$ o3 G( H, E+ o> next at bat.
>
! q3 Z* [# y" i) G8 O6 A% g> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
> 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
> 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
> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
2 V# {- G5 N+ V* z> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
6 J3 u4 Q1 g8 `8 S9 m> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
2 ]# K7 k$ G' D9 M) R1 P  Y( p> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
% b+ J# P' U( U+ n2 w> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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> 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,
> 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
8 v. u6 B' Q& J' C4 ?/ m+ i> 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
" u' f4 Z1 Q' K9 m> 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,
$ [/ T; j+ m. b; h# f3 }1 m. n. _> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
/ F, M% }3 G% c4 I1 a> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
8 g- d  L2 U" ~' J1 Q> circled the bases toward home.
>
> 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!
+ L$ E  K, G  C> Shay, run to third!'
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5 |' ?7 C& B) A, L0 s: E> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
' D  D0 O# P7 F3 K. K2 K3 w> 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.
>
# s8 N* G6 v: N. m: R( j4 _3 u  j) Q6 n> '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
* ]: F" d" M0 W> into this world'.
9 y% ?* L7 H/ E* U>
> 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
9 @& e2 \, t" _9 Y6 M" ~8 v( A> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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' w. R9 I  |# h+ H9 n, I' ]> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
/ ^) Z7 O. V; r( D, H4 v> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
7 }/ e" G5 a' i$ [$ E$ V% W0 _> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
# E; B& [( R! o% F2 I0 @2 T>
> 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
3 _/ K- m/ X8 k( j" c; R( W" |# C> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
" Z8 r+ {4 d; V. T9 ~, }/ i0 b> present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and
4 c7 g' c$ [# e' ~  i2 }' h> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
# W# t( s7 g- f: y) T% J>
8 e  g/ u8 ~& r> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.