Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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> 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?
>
> 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
: n! U! q0 `% v5 G; k- k> forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated
> staff, he offered a question:
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* W. p  E$ p* N5 \( u> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
; S  k; S0 i, J' f> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
+ K; ?# J$ Q9 _8 d7 K> 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.
>
9 V( E2 @6 [# \' X5 _& r1 M> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
! \2 a( V; M# F0 H9 U> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
# `# S- T4 {% k2 X2 m> treat that child.'
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> Then he told the following story:
>
+ F2 I6 W6 H/ d/ ^" |4 b6 c> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
! _  T9 p% h5 S$ u& c+ h* h, E: 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
> 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
1 U  i& _) e" s> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
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> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
" I. _8 m* W, d& b, q# ?" F6 s> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
8 d1 m( J% S; A' s1 ]+ w* C8 B> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
$ F" O4 Q$ W- v7 c4 R3 F* I0 I> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
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> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
6 Q; I" J6 Z) G7 d1 k> 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
( C- z6 V" o; ?  ~. I8 m> 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
> 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
9 \$ A9 I% O: j. s> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
3 W# ~: K$ G; X$ D8 c3 |2 ]2 L> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
" R5 b( b/ d3 \2 h* l4 A> next at bat.
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8 c+ X3 x, r1 ?# B8 V9 o& h> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
+ F! q, |) B$ k  @4 ~, @- x4 F/ k> game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all
! P, d* [, S" P- M. ?' \> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
  P% S0 H: L, b, y- x> 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
( w' P" ~; L: }- ^$ r; R( o3 A$ t> 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
) ^( R, E2 j$ o  U> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
, n  y. `: m7 q- Y* a> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
9 u3 ^  r2 H  K' L1 v> right back to the pitcher.
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! O, r1 {  Z, I# [+ N. {> 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
: f% x9 k2 O( P( n& a) s& W; n, F> 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
9 O5 r* g; ~3 F2 a> 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.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
) X2 \, D8 W- T& U; E5 {> 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
- W- p( t/ ]! t" G" D/ b> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
+ i4 U1 s2 N1 k# p: c> 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,
# ]6 g* f& z5 Q% c( M4 Y" C& {> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
" O( e$ X# }- _0 d: O3 w> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
! @; ~* u' Q4 }* |6 G& X$ Z' M> circled the bases toward home.
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# o# i9 }2 O8 j- D! d; A0 s/ W' `> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
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> 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!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
3 u$ A, N) Q& \, R> 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
2 K3 g9 R2 B6 _> game for his team.
>
> '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
4 B( |: R9 j* h* f5 R7 b7 z" h> into this world'.
>
) h# p/ W  Q. e1 h/ e# l& N2 D> 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
> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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! x; j0 H" P. t5 t) y1 k> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
$ T" K5 D% V5 h8 n) S$ ?> 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
8 @5 m% R2 C) `0 }. x2 c> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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> 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 l( T6 i# C7 K3 d  |2 f> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
, B1 A  P- A9 Y' P4 `> 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
9 I* r8 X: ]9 U2 T! F> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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) ~3 y4 K* ?, n. E: ?> You now have two choices:
! L) Z' p( o4 m# x> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
1 B/ j/ k/ ^! y% U& a, M> May your day, be a Shay Day.