Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
$ l/ V4 t& x) d3 p) f7 ]> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
>
1 ^, [" ]: b& E8 e& @- _; R> 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
' b) `2 l, d. Y8 @4 J> staff, he offered a question:
>
3 t' R4 e6 w  {9 A( Y> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
% g: l9 R; v/ B1 x6 z% V7 Z5 B: d1 @> 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.
>
2 P4 ]. L5 r" \! z1 {> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> 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.'
* n3 r) k1 W  J! |1 F, y>
; ^7 B4 a2 i3 {" ~4 E+ ?> 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
% `$ Q. @) y* {# c# I& E> 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.
>
# \& n) _" r$ E. d8 d> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
5 w  o/ X' q/ |% i4 V> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
, x4 k# b$ m4 v' |4 s/ e. u6 u8 f' W> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
5 Y8 }8 a! ?5 G4 V, j> inning.'
9 E& _1 e% Z( n, E2 f6 h>
' h2 i! D/ |" g. _> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
7 O, e, G& p$ x, V  n3 m8 X> 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
1 w* c7 R1 e4 ~) E) g> 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
' S$ [' I3 D$ ^1 K* x> 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
! ?; P0 j4 w5 \& F. ?( W> 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
> next at bat.
+ ?! j/ }% Z" l( s, z$ e3 V>
8 f" e6 @( ~7 u& ^: [0 s> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
/ V  t3 C9 ~2 P; f> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
1 _3 N" d4 C9 h6 N, g- Z> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
# d- T) I4 e/ N' q) R* z  W) E0 ?> much less connect with the ball.
5 c; p/ o6 Y# m  W" \- r> 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
% X* J% ~2 C" E2 \1 g" k> 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
' t' {0 i6 X1 x: u> 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.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
7 S4 [0 z! n5 W- g$ Y' [> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
% ]2 ?  T( J" z; o# k> 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
> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
( i# ?, ~7 y+ t7 n3 W> 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,
+ h; D$ K- F# G8 \3 ~  S) \7 n0 j> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
( [: e# L. o! X. T+ q7 B> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
5 a/ l6 }, R! e- N+ B! L6 L% 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
2 u0 H: y3 W7 w# n& B) l> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
/ @/ X. Q% E9 N( ^' R0 k5 Z7 ~: T> 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
) g* C1 U3 i5 |" J5 G> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
3 X8 b/ P& N4 S/ J' C6 l>
% V& l1 ]% ^2 K1 A8 x> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
: d) M3 \( [7 s7 x3 B>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
# |9 c* v  ?" R8 j8 r> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
7 n4 f  q0 v: M! {> Shay, run to third!'
>
> 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
9 v* i, y- n! {+ ~. `* r. |> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
) W$ d; c3 m  j! b6 z> game for his team.
>
) A& o; d) T# v, V' d> '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
8 G) \& u  c: o( E> into this world'.
! B" K% C! j2 _4 T; x>
/ C% m/ E+ A% C0 X/ S> 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
8 P, F- E) Z& d1 Z- b> 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
* ^: K: |6 V. W4 N> 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.
>
> 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
6 |' M1 K) n9 v/ c: y; E* K) e3 X3 c8 ?9 C> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
; n( ~- L; p  F( U+ ^( C& [> 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
> humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
4 p' s8 [+ |2 R% q) p' Z' {> bit colder in the process?
" S' R( w; c$ j1 t2 ?' V1 M% I& z>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
6 L2 F! D1 Y9 ]' r0 z0 V> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
! `$ S6 Q% I& O& R) [8 d- [/ l& ^>
; e- {8 Q2 P% }6 ]4 q1 r% Y8 [> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.