John P Robinson
December 21st, 2008, 04:45 PM
I dont usually pass this sort of thing on, but I received the following email today, and (dare I say it) it moved me!!
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 understood 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 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.
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 send thousands of jokes through the e-mail
without a second
thought, but when it comes to sending messages about
life choices,
people
hesitate.
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 in your address book
who 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
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.
You now have two choices:
1. Delete
2.. Forward
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 understood 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 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.
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 send thousands of jokes through the e-mail
without a second
thought, but when it comes to sending messages about
life choices,
people
hesitate.
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 in your address book
who 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
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.
You now have two choices:
1. Delete
2.. Forward