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
$ T$ Y- x1 y# y& c* r> same choice?
4 u, f# u% N* W$ W9 ]>
& S. l$ Q6 {5 \> 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
> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
" G$ ], [: [& D) u. E> 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
2 e- u1 l. Q$ W8 a  w9 ]> natural order of things in my son?'
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
5 ^, K2 m* }; _> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
3 E6 ]2 O3 q9 x9 p1 ~1 ~>
> Then he told the following story:
. ]) Q  g( A0 p1 q>
& N- s! o+ D; A) p2 u> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
$ d' K" x+ w4 l4 e6 b7 ^1 f> 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
) R! u% D3 `* e- G> team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play,
  V# ~" \/ r/ X> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
" H* @. e6 T/ y4 X8 \. `>
> 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
> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
# e! }! C& Z* Z3 N. L> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
8 b, W9 r+ S) B) f+ `$ g7 r3 [& X+ N>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
! M9 p! b5 W9 f7 d' |. G4 h# 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
0 z' l6 t' w, I> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
. t. ?- b& q: V# E" b; p! ]> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
3 g5 S1 U' a" X- P. l0 t> 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
$ z; w( ]- r, T, Q. ]- x> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
9 H/ a  _; c! S: m5 l> 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.
' D% p7 m7 z5 w6 e>
3 p5 h3 \; U" ~: r5 [1 ^/ A9 p> 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,
  T5 W; ^/ j+ }# r+ Z9 i0 Q> 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 M. U6 x) b; X! Z> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
3 }3 b  `7 y- W) J4 P& B1 C> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
- e$ r8 o4 R9 V* v; A! F) J> 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.
>
' H+ b6 r! H. A> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
( x9 K. F' U: g, C! o> 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.
. i5 J3 x1 G' I) c# C; f6 D7 W3 a>
> 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
* E( f1 d  d* U# T1 j: g> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
/ O9 s) V1 T( |- y- a> wide-eyed and startled.
>
. H9 o2 _9 K, \4 y6 O* G& ~2 G& `> 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
7 C6 e3 o2 a+ c* z/ g% c1 M> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
4 P+ y! W( _% 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,
> 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! z5 p) c* B& M7 S. P  D> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
' x* P3 P! H3 j$ \% ~> 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!
: E! H4 o% @  P" Q> Shay, run to third!'
>
  Z7 m4 \2 U  O6 Y$ x> 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
& a* ]& f% c. H) I9 s> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
8 ?6 M# w: E0 t! F1 D6 s> game for his team.
; l8 a3 v; }# u& k1 b+ S7 ~>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
$ i; m( x% P$ Z  E3 w9 [1 y> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
( H. X8 g+ M: \/ Y> 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!
6 i8 E$ h5 o: Y$ o3 A5 J" A1 n>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
0 }8 g, ?* }. t* R1 w3 q  K& U> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
  F! e  t# d9 L4 M5 R2 |5 N/ 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.
* u; t( O- s4 s! j# T1 n" ]' a# W>
> 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
8 X5 N/ k; m  H/ e: Y6 j& h! |: d> '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
! o) h3 e4 ^: z+ ~' f! C> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
0 K3 d# l  A7 q9 g# w> 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
> bit colder in the process?
- m9 i! L+ |4 T! l& s: _# Q>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
4 ]2 x6 Q# `' O+ x> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
. J# M5 U0 b# D4 {9 P' C- [>
> You now have two choices:
' j/ K4 ?5 n; l8 o+ @0 X$ }, s2 D> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.