i got this in an e-mail
What Will You Choose?
I know you are all the "appropriate" type of people who would appreciate the
beauty in this story. 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 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. Shay's father approached
one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked
around for guidance and, getting none, he took matters into his own hands
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."
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 outfield. 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, 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 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 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 took the ball and turned and
threw the ball on a high arc to right field, far beyond the reach of the
first baseman.
Everyone started yelling," Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his
life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
wide-eyed and startled; Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"
By the time Shay rounded first base, the right fielder had the ball. He
could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for
the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and intentionally
threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward
second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases
toward home. Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned
him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!" As Shay
rounded third, the boys from both teams 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."
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, and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?
I know you are all the "appropriate" type of people who would appreciate the
beauty in this story. 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 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. Shay's father approached
one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked
around for guidance and, getting none, he took matters into his own hands
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."
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 outfield. 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, 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 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 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 took the ball and turned and
threw the ball on a high arc to right field, far beyond the reach of the
first baseman.
Everyone started yelling," Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his
life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
wide-eyed and startled; Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"
By the time Shay rounded first base, the right fielder had the ball. He
could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for
the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and intentionally
threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward
second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases
toward home. Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned
him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!" As Shay
rounded third, the boys from both teams 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."
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, and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?