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 fund-raising 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
new 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 rounded 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 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
those watching were 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. !
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