Something to think about!!
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 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 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 s tartled.
>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 ra n 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.
>You now have two choices:
>1. Delete
>2. Forward
>May your day, be a Shay Day,sunny today tomorrow & always!
>
Previous Topic
Index