Two Choices

[Guest guest]

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 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.