Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
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( l# Y! r* E1 x" C( t> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
; X8 O  A# a* S/ d) C; P> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
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* _- G6 z3 d' O% `6 S" w. `> 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
7 D1 s8 N% G" T7 t2 Y% q# M/ y! 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
> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
+ N/ p: C) O4 k, j  s! T8 f. A8 h> natural order of things in my son?'
>
7 t% c9 a) a# \4 v( K/ `6 Z! I> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
# T( @2 P+ m7 N& X> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
# x" h" L( H% b1 q' o  ^. P> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
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! j& _, b* m( o> 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
> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
9 ?1 ]. K3 ]. Z0 o2 }% B> 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 Z6 ]' ]: l( w1 e; m- [9 y> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
5 e( j/ D5 _: R2 e; f& G; o> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
. X! K& @, X% u  K> 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
2 G! \( h! W( _> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
> 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
4 w1 B4 r. x- i2 v, Z* u> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
8 I, s" I' `$ r- G5 K> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
, f5 T' D' V4 n# t, l# z* q> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
/ J- H" C- [' \. Q$ p, D> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
; k3 ~0 B4 |, a3 Z4 L2 D> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
6 T: O$ G4 N9 a> next at bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the
& Y' S. 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,
& C+ H; A. c) Z& N8 N> much less connect with the ball.
; E) }. Y! G) S  Y: I> 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
> in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
: p- @2 g) X% S3 t8 v1 S' a* u2 K> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
4 P. c: ^5 t% _+ r3 _$ G4 s> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
2 w' ]- }! `- v3 ~/ m> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
> right back to the pitcher.
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0 D) L; B7 c: t2 m, P' w7 H> 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
1 t$ \- P' ^/ D& _> out and that would have been the end of the game.
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. P5 }% E" Y: |; N3 G% N> 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
> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
8 e, V. c6 Q/ _/ a" ~> wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
7 s$ D+ ?5 ^* q- y* o; n> 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
& R7 g* ^+ X; ?. E: t> 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
+ C* u( O; ]( b> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
4 G* i' C6 x$ Q1 c( ~% B1 W> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
6 t+ p3 d3 q* M/ \7 o> head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
> circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> 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!'
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+ M9 l9 }8 `: ~% h> 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
* f6 E) z( J3 Q3 l8 J" u5 t> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
5 j4 f( {. p: J> game for his team.
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> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
8 o9 c- Y) @6 ^: g> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity
% c) {' g+ e% J& O> into this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
; R% q+ j5 _: O> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
4 G6 m1 Y, B" v* n: u6 r> 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
2 @4 t2 [7 i: d  J" E. Q# u> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
' ?, e7 D7 J- m> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
- |5 w8 l1 N( _" s) i: a8 `> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
6 h7 a" m  J+ s7 p# e> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
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  i9 t4 R% o" S5 L) `; V> 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
> 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
> 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
; {: f, c1 b+ o9 @2 q> bit colder in the process?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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> You now have two choices:
, s% @; O- a+ Y) o, l. M> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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9 C9 Y7 U1 m8 Z0 ^9 h> May your day, be a Shay Day.