Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
- v1 ^! {9 }' H* W! P9 U/ _> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
" q7 U, T) k1 y3 {6 e* D> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
>
; s  n  F; x- ]4 J: O9 b; d# w> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
- C- e( c$ E/ [" x# i- r) x% q8 k> the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be
0 A& b) ~+ V4 S9 Z3 U# g> 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
> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
* y$ D4 \8 n! e. B6 d> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?'
3 w  a# ^/ {1 U% f" S>
6 M* ~8 @' \4 C; h+ F- O1 W4 L6 ]6 M& p( Z> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
' A6 g. r/ Z5 X( P$ d7 P' d> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
* \" V  u5 O0 x9 L* x> 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.'
>
- v: S0 F# J# s/ L> Then he told the following story:
! U( V% }' u: b7 p, [6 H>
> 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
- v& t& F! }0 D5 j& e> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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- X+ P# u* w) l( v> 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
> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
3 h1 a/ K. w1 f  U) A> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
  [/ p% b# b5 O- b9 F& }8 x2 U> 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
/ w' o+ L: F% O7 b" t) j; I> 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; G  t- u8 N7 ]" v> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
* Y4 Z1 d( G7 m" ^3 T( c% g/ D> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
) \2 @- d, Y. @" T> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
> next at bat.
7 J6 v1 J. l9 z1 u>
& |4 c+ z$ z( c- k+ P" R. s' F* E> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
7 S: Z$ ~( R4 N6 J, W* f9 E2 I9 M' P> 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,
9 |: J9 k$ p* y& _> much less connect with the ball.
( {& g! o" j2 U7 u2 D4 c! e> 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
* _$ I# u$ p+ R0 v  L4 |! s! M> 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.
> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
>
' v5 N1 ~- a; O8 f2 |> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
> 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
# H0 u0 y, W& f$ p> of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
+ u% Z7 R' d) A* Z> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
0 O2 @3 X+ `# w0 a> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
7 h9 H9 G1 ^; v) R) G>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
7 K& s) X% x; N: \/ C! e. B> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
! h6 D1 N0 W. z, u> 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
> 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
6 b, A1 n* P* C1 N0 V/ N  t! h> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
3 ^' i. o. G1 r9 U  k' f> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
. r6 r  i1 E! [6 D( I>
> 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: ~( y0 u8 j( t> Shay, run to third!'
>
* P( C4 t" r. U6 d0 J> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
$ H( J4 ?7 m1 [$ s+ ]> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
% R  K, D; ~: H* R. W> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
>
5 W, F& W0 d' I5 V2 w> '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
> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
0 j0 a8 w" Y6 b> 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!
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> 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
+ H0 J6 O  c* v/ ]. j8 B4 X; j4 _> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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5 K: z9 |% N, d6 A5 z; R9 w8 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
> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
& V( F  N- h8 H> 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
* W" v. i1 f. d9 D0 n> order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
( w8 W4 q1 ^7 Y# |! l: w> 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?
- r9 _6 }2 Y! p8 x* e>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
( r2 u9 m5 i- q! Q9 ^% C! H> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
; l- ]& }. i# ?5 E* B> 2. Forward
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# z$ ], d( [  f0 J9 N1 y; K! q> May your day, be a Shay Day.