Post by Paws on Mar 16, 2006 5:35:57 GMT 12.75
> 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 you is:
Would you have made
>the same choice?
>
> At a fundraising dinner f! or 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 approac! hed 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
>obvious! ly 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 th! e 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.!
.