Fw: MUST READ(bY NEELIMA KAPOOR,MUMBAI)

[Guest guest]

At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves learning disabledchildren,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 isdone 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 peopletreat 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'sfather 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 tobe 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. Iguess 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 gloveand 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 theninth inning, Shay's team scoredagain. 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 heir chance to win thegame? 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 theother 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. Thepitcher 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 andcould 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 firstbaseman, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and bothteams 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. Hescampered 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 rounded towardssecond 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 theball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher'sintentions and 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, 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 thosewatching were on their feet were screaming, "Shay,run home! Shay ran to home, stepped on theplate,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, theboys 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 andseeing 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 sendingmessages 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 andworkplaces....so forward to ur friends, known persons and help the handicap persons as u can...LIFE IS A GAME, PLAY IT Punam.

All-in-one security and maintenance for your PC. Get a free 90-day trial! Learn more!