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
3 z2 p6 o) f! O! O2 T% j  @% |# ?8 s  V> same choice?
! m0 Y: h' ~, C4 U4 O! K* W>
$ |6 u6 z' M7 I3 b$ x5 }9 N7 y> 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
. r! b  W% }6 N. e> 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
& ^) {" I, o$ t( q9 R2 ~4 {4 M> 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.
. z, S9 Q6 s3 L5 W3 f>
  b* h/ X- x; @) E' Z, B> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
2 |& ~6 B) k  v0 P* ]. e> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
' t0 z6 N, F& Y! C/ u> Then he told the following story:
5 T1 C9 m( Y6 d; s. u5 s) }>
> 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
- H3 K2 o' y5 u/ ^( t3 B8 C& e  c> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
5 R: X8 F9 s: s2 T: b* N> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
* j# X2 S* ^  N4 m> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
1 F& d  J: c# a* j7 S> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
9 P# U4 c. L/ Q* I' ~>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
5 g! J" D* v4 q" p3 Q> 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
! i& F. {( ^9 ?! ^> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
" V* r. O+ A9 `+ d> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
3 W' ]" @+ S0 g4 {- K  p& S> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
" z% _: _* E# g> 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
  z* c) @  x$ r  z> 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
9 A: t& `! a+ s5 s5 _> 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
4 p) `- W2 S' F% y* M> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
8 K/ p+ b" K' \> 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.
) @, V9 h" E6 ?6 [: D> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the
) z5 F: a! B' Y2 P8 r- o& T2 d" S> other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
* T: `: C8 i1 q0 W5 f9 ?$ D0 r' ^& v9 l> 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
3 W6 W2 Y( t- ?! G> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
2 C& t$ H: G( X1 L8 k> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
' `" D/ M; v1 m; x> right back to the pitcher.
>
3 p+ Y; B8 \' _" X/ }; l> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
! m* F, H8 A6 F, b0 Q! ]9 X1 b0 d> 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.
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
9 W( D( _2 c0 A9 m7 ]7 @9 g- I2 `> 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.
" Y1 |% @/ u3 s- C  y5 C9 H7 d>
! h  q5 ^# X. `9 r1 M> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
1 _0 P- H) B' j/ }' S7 ?4 m) a- _> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
+ p5 ~: ?( w2 T3 Q> 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
6 S$ T8 ~3 h. d! k, n4 g+ a> 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,
  ^2 v: v% I8 e" w> 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
+ I# \- d* ]9 U  H+ L" Q( T> circled the bases toward home.
3 e* ]3 O+ {* M" g>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
9 y9 N$ x+ _" k2 S! u> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
! [7 K! j3 n9 s/ x, o> Shay, run to third!'
7 i0 d5 X$ i! H, H; u6 i>
> 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
> game for his team.
% [0 R- d+ Z* N- S1 o>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
# Y" f8 M4 m. R$ H* ~- c> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
! v9 s( T/ j! N9 I>
% n# P, J1 a5 Q% K. |) I> 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
1 B4 H6 z" x; A. p% H3 l> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
$ ~4 i, R1 l# d& W7 l>
% A  n: {9 S) P' S% Z/ X- h) ^> 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
, j2 p$ F6 c1 x8 X5 I# t> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
! S& U- v6 A* y* Q( J> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
( R7 a; U" H# L>
> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
0 z& o; c8 u; x- z& U& l3 x> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
. B" R: f, F- \: r. _> '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
7 j" j. k, t/ b7 ~% i> 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
+ W# h- C5 ^1 Z* L0 l. R; |  R> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
+ t/ w' B! d, G% O% K" b9 O/ _> bit colder in the process?
& g) t4 V5 S  G& r$ v) o; @2 v4 j>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
. p, q% w3 j/ Q6 L> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
+ ]) R+ \* ~( B% M+ g% W>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.