Two Choices

sweetspot

Two Choices
>
: C* H3 m( u, R% V> 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?
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> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children,
4 q7 }+ U2 N. t' K> 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
, Y  d  w6 I! c3 e1 P* V" f' W> staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
) P: ~! R; w7 s: T> 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
% k5 w5 N6 ]3 `" Q+ S& G> natural order of things in my son?'
>
- [/ s" j! z$ T. B> The audience was stilled by the query.
) d: {: J  x1 O* B0 k  d>
* C  I. B2 s/ T7 z) l( L> 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
1 \- B9 k7 j) s/ a> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
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1 M2 A& `2 \; \" i( k5 V5 b, J> 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,
: g1 u# T* m' X& @> it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
8 G9 ~; g- i# J2 q> 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
. e$ R0 ~) _# ]9 T$ |" v5 K' A> inning.'
>
6 C- ?0 e7 o/ v1 |1 @. [( }> 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
, ^6 m7 V" K) e> 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
2 r! o7 A! k/ v> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
& g( [; v$ H( `- J% j3 J> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
* f& n: P& L+ }: b$ Y> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
) w9 o2 d: q8 P  Y( C" {" r> ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
1 l  \* T! E% g( s; e: M> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be
# h3 I5 ?0 l4 M8 w1 }  C> next at bat.
>
> 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
& |) R3 y3 Q' N& J4 V+ E> but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
( D7 M5 m% a& c& r> much less connect with the ball.
5 J4 o% i! X3 s0 T> 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
% j4 l" U# G$ [& J> 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
. r2 a4 t, S$ s7 k6 w7 t; a> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
3 b0 D$ G* d% W8 g2 ]* A> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
: a1 K9 |9 k3 H# M; e2 _> right back to the pitcher.
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> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
2 T' j% o: @3 ]. ~9 m> 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.
>
5 @/ b5 @. w. h0 v$ f> 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
7 T6 r- c: C. ~  |' ^: f$ q> yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever
: S( Q. W9 V3 _/ {> run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
> wide-eyed and startled.
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> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
; W1 K7 e* \( |% Z6 w> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
1 }8 `- V9 p, T  @) |3 T& s> the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to
9 d$ F1 d2 I  R8 e- y> be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
/ N0 u3 K2 g, y4 z6 B> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
, i+ v) P6 M, m2 m, w/ _> 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
> circled the bases toward home.
1 F! `2 _2 m0 T! t1 ~, P( H+ [! t4 t>
% W% L% c/ d; B' J) e, g" T> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
; o9 T) T& C. g5 D> 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!
+ \* L+ v, z( p9 Y( M' P! T% m" i( u> Shay, run to third!'
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> 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
+ X9 L9 t5 N( v9 C> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> 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
" |$ G# E  k! e3 r> into this world'.
& [. J3 H6 ]* V& C7 |, r( v>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
: j1 V. `& ]# Q+ Y0 V> 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!
>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
7 Z: b) W8 X7 W3 g8 S. v> 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
> 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
: i, D4 y/ i; C# I! `% @7 Y> 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
8 H2 O; y; x- x. I* @> 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
; z( U. G. p, B8 a> 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?
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> A wise man once said every society is judged by
> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
3 i4 {) G/ _8 W' Q8 u& q>
> You now have two choices:
5 u+ a4 o5 D8 S$ f- C3 U# d+ L> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
7 T) M  ^# |; x" h# O7 j5 k; b> May your day, be a Shay Day.