What choice would you make?

[Guest guest]

I am not normally one to pass things on or post things that are off

topic, however, I felt this one had to be shared... please keep

tissue handy... and enjoy...

Subject: 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

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 (not

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

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

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 because 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

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

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

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 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,

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

the

base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder

had

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

second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's

intentions so

he, 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.

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! "

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

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. 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!

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 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.

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

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.