Would you have made the same choice? A MUST READ

[Guest guest]

First Off Let me say, I am not the forwarding type.. but this story just

warmed my heart.. PLEASE read..

I am sure many if not all of you can appreciate this.

Thanks for Reading

Scarbrough

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 s on 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 soft ly 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 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

throug h 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 prese nt

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.

_____

Make every e-mail and IM count. Join the i

<http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?source=EML_WL_%20MakeCoun

t> 'm Initiative from Microsoft.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I'm Sandi, and I'm replying to your post on Autism in Girls privately. I

thought you might appreciate seeing the actual story of Shaya, as it was given

before years and years of running around on the Internet slowly changed it.

Take a look! :-) _ " God's perfection, " the story of a disabled boy and

baseball-Truth!_ (http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/g/godsperfection.htm)

I hope you like it!

Sandi

In a message dated 5/27/2008 3:03:03 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

amethystdjembe@... writes:

First Off Let me say, I am not the forwarding type.. but this story just

warmed my heart.. PLEASE read..

I am sure many if not all of you can appreciate this.

Thanks for Reading

Scarbrough

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 s on 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 soft ly 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'intenti

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

throug h 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 prese nt

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.

_____

Make every e-mail and IM count. Join the i

<_http://im.live.http://im.livehttp://im.live.http://im.lihttp://im.live.ht_

(http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?source=EML_WL_%20MakeCoun)

t> 'm Initiative from Microsoft.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4 & ?NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I'm Sandi, and I'm replying to your post on Autism in Girls privately. I

thought you might appreciate seeing the actual story of Shaya, as it was given

before years and years of running around on the Internet slowly changed it.

Take a look! :-) _ " God's perfection, " the story of a disabled boy and

baseball-Truth!_ (http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/g/godsperfection.htm)

I hope you like it!

Sandi

In a message dated 5/27/2008 3:03:03 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

amethystdjembe@... writes:

First Off Let me say, I am not the forwarding type.. but this story just

warmed my heart.. PLEASE read..

I am sure many if not all of you can appreciate this.

Thanks for Reading

Scarbrough

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 s on 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 soft ly 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'intenti

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

throug h 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 prese nt

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.

_____

Make every e-mail and IM count. Join the i

<_http://im.live.http://im.livehttp://im.live.http://im.lihttp://im.live.ht_

(http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?source=EML_WL_%20MakeCoun)

t> 'm Initiative from Microsoft.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4 & ?NCID=aolfod00030000000002)