3Hummer
10-21-2008, 04:59 AM
This message got fowarded to me by a friend, and I figured I'd like to share with you guys....
This is an AWESOME STORY!! Lets all share the love a little more.
Sent: Tuesday, 30 September, 2008 9:50:08 AM
Subject: FW: Need some inspiration?
Hope this little story hits you somewhere near where it hit me.... :)
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 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.
This is an AWESOME STORY!! Lets all share the love a little more.
Sent: Tuesday, 30 September, 2008 9:50:08 AM
Subject: FW: Need some inspiration?
Hope this little story hits you somewhere near where it hit me.... :)
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 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.