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 children with learning

disabilities, 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,who was mentally and physically

disabled 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 I had walked past a park

where some boys Shay knew
were

playing baseball. Shay asked,

'Do you think they'll let me play?'

I knew that most of the boys would

not want someone like Shay

on their team, but as a father I

also under stood that if my 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.



I 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. I watched with a small

tear in
my
eye and warmth in my

heart. The boys saw my joy at my 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 I 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 a nd 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 the20stands 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.



B y 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 me so happy,

and coming home and seeing his

Mother tearfully embrace her little

hero of the day!



AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO

THIS STORY:



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.

WHO WROTE THIS?: Anonymous

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