Fwd: My choice is...

October 26, 2006

Have your Kleenex close by.....

Two Choices

What would yo! u 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 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 (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. His Father watched with 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 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. By

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 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 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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stay in the know. Pulse on the new Yahoo.com. Check it out.

October 26, 2006

Liz, I have forwarded this story on to the editor of our public

school newsletter.The newsletter never had anything pertaining to

disabled people until recently. I kept pushing the editor to put

info in the newsletter helpful to parents of disabled kids and he

finally did. I hope he crys his eyes out.I know I did. Thanks for

sharing this story. Cyndi

>

> Have your Kleenex close by.....

>

> Two Choices

>

> What would yo! u 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 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

(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. His Father watched with 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 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. By 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 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 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.

>

> -------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------

> Stay in the know. Pulse on the new Yahoo.com. Check it out.

>

October 26, 2006

Cyndi: Anytime I see something that catches my eye, I try to make sure to pass

it on. I am glad and hope the newsletter prints it for you!

Liz

Re: Fwd: My choice is...