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
& F& t# ^& V' z& I7 Q% P. D1 d> same choice?
>
7 _0 f7 o/ O$ Q7 ^% f> 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:
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: I  q8 I, G# F7 N3 C- r> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is
3 r! x1 Y' U  S* R' X> done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
2 H- e- e: y5 D; ?2 K& m' |5 g> children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the
) d/ K0 W( w1 a5 X: F> natural order of things in my son?'
1 l/ e3 o$ C/ p& J( a7 g5 e8 ?>
- d! x+ V) o# o# V  m; K- Z> The audience was stilled by the query.
' R8 O1 [8 J, Z1 [>
/ m9 C# _. Y# z4 b9 @" }> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
0 t2 i4 g; u3 q  Q; Y; o4 o> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
6 ^! A, I) ^* O8 i; @8 U, L> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
, T% s1 D$ E1 c' L>
: _2 H. C% s2 m: ^> 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
7 g$ b) l$ f; O3 W; f* k2 G6 v* g> 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
> accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
% R& S6 i0 p* z/ {9 B! u- w>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
& M+ j, m+ \4 Q, P. I- y, ~( g> 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
& M$ t3 H" l4 `* B% g" g> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
; Z/ i, Y1 m+ P; Q> 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
9 w, a% p$ K% ?( m  ?1 x- r+ K0 f> 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
3 Q+ ~4 g/ s0 C3 y/ {/ w. l) n> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the
> 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
) m; a1 K9 @3 A4 n+ b> next at bat.
" I9 i  c0 w  Q+ H9 O" p) L3 Y>
( |2 {/ o0 t  ^) f0 f- G> 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,
& ~  f) x( R4 O' l& R0 A1 i> much less connect with the ball.
$ `: \: q8 n* V; j> 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
: I% r+ C! x, E# @7 a  k> 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.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
' f- Y- _% _! Z; C0 f" s> 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.
6 u. v& E! }0 a; z) ]>
9 E  h& l, T6 m. a# O( Y7 ^3 g- ^: c> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out
! ]3 T9 f4 ?# G5 N9 c% ?: k> 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.
>
4 q0 |  L. g7 o' V# F5 i# r> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
. @) H' y# n0 o> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
' `) j6 T( A$ }  U7 h> 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
9 }% Y, ^! l5 K& s> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intention So he,
( g$ N* p! x; i% V  d. G> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's
2 P( F$ r( e5 H% u: y> 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'
; n8 d. v3 k+ K; A) Y>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
! {* g! V. |" M, m2 H> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
; O$ r- U& u: k0 F' \> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
" X, N) X- L! Z* z7 a$ m4 R7 \* @> their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped
1 m* s1 X6 a; g+ j3 F9 U  `> on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
> game for his team.
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> '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
& C, q+ z: V% _: k& I% d> into this world'.
9 f* K9 K# v$ o) ?- T1 k& f>
7 f) l9 G0 ]" U9 H; {> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
+ a/ O: k! c* }$ \; ^5 N6 G> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
/ h0 a, \7 o. b  ^  P% g+ }> seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
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: u2 Z+ K3 D: C# a* k& n> 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
# s  p. s2 B" V. `) r> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
0 k- ~( m7 S: M2 l  ~> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency
) a% Y+ O9 z! y- X* z> is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
* a% c1 [9 I9 E8 H> 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
0 A) Q$ b( m" j' x> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
/ q9 p& L2 y4 h; y: B> 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
$ ~: E1 k8 A+ W& 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
7 p* m9 z4 x% b  Q8 ?# N> bit colder in the process?
1 l# }! v( ^# K6 }- q# U' i% X>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by
- l9 t6 O4 O: M0 @% h7 J> how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
2 W( X9 ~/ W: \> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
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> May your day, be a Shay Day.