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 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. Athe 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!
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 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!
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!
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
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