[QUAD-L] Two Choices

This was kind of touching- so I made my choice.

Tim

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 to all of you 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 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

natural order

> of things in my son?"

    The audience was stilled by the
 query.

     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

treat that

> child." 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

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.

      Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked

if Shay

> could play, not expecting much. 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

inning."

      Shay struggled over to the team's bench put on a team shirt with

a broad

> smile and his Father had 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 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 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 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

> but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the
 bat

properly, much

> less connect with the ball.

       However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher,

recognizing the

> other team 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 be able to 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.

       The game would now be over, but 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 head of the

first

> baseman, 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 ran that far but 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 awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming

and struggling to make it to second base. By the time Shay started towards

second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team,

who had a

> chance to be the hero for his team for the first time. He could have

thrown the

> ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the

pitcher's

> intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over

the

> second-baseman's head. Shay ran toward second 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 second base, the opposing shortstop ran to help him

and

> turned 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
 those

watching on

> their feet were screaming, "Shay, run home! Shay ran to home, stepped

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

into this

> world.

       Shay didn't make it to another summer and 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!

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 think twice about sharing. The

crude,

> vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public

discussion

> about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

     If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are

that you're

> probably sorting out the
 people on your address list that 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

that

> opportunity to
 brighten the day of those with us the least able, and

leave the

> world a little bit colder in the process?

 A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats

it's least

> fortunate amongst them.

      You now have two choices:

>       1. Delete

>       2. Forward

>       May your day, be a Shay Day, sunny today tomorrow & always!

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