Wow! I'm going soft in my old age. Actually read this one right through and
had an increasingly broad grin on my face. So, yer, I'm sharing it. As you
read it, I think you will know why I'm sharing it. Enjoy.

Fred



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 fund-raising 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

May your day, be a Shay Day.




With kind regards,
Robert H. Jamieson.

REV L Driver Training,
120 Clyde Street,
Carluke,
South Lanarkshire,
ML8 5BG.

Tel: 01555 759625


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