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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

Can not 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 G ame 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