This is so inspiring. I pray that we will all look for opportunities to make our world a bit more compassionate and better for everyone. Joyce Buzzard

> Subject: Choices
> Date: Thu, 22 May 2008 08:30:31 -0400
> From: rlmckinney1@...
>
>
> Two
> Choices 
>
> What would you do? You make the choice. Don't look for a
> punch line,  there isn't
> one.  
>
> 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, phy sically and
> mentally handicapped 
> comes
> into the world , an opportunity to realize tru e 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
> nin th inning.' 
>
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad
> smile, put on 
> a team shirt . His Father watched with a sm all 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
> ha ve 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 ru n 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 
> ah ead 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
> d irection of third 
> base,
> and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!' 
>
> As
> Shay rounded 
> third, the b oys 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 N OW 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 thin king 
> 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.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>  
>
>  
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> Spell a grand
> slam in this game where word skill meets World Series. Get in the
> game.________________________________________PeoplePC OnlineA better
> way to Internethttp://www.peoplepc.com
>  
>
> =
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Plan your
> next roadtrip with MapQuest.com:
> America 's #1 Mapping
> Site.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I have read this before, but it is worth reading
> again. Never take life for granted. Be thankful for each and every
> day.
> Madelyn
>  
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> From
> Lisa
> Subject:
> Choices
>  
>
> Two
> Choices 
>
> What would you do? You make the choice. Don't look for a
> punch line,  there isn't
> one.  
>
> 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, phy sically and
> mentally handicapped 
> comes
> into the world , an opportunity to realize tru e 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
> nin th inning.' 
>
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad
> smile, put on 
> a team shirt . His Father watched with a sm all 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
> ha ve 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 ru n 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 
> ah ead 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
> d irection of third 
> base,
> and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!' 
>
> As
> Shay rounded 
> third, the b oys 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 N OW 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 thin king 
> 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.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>  
>
>  
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> Spell a grand
> slam in this game where word skill meets World Series. Get in the
> game.________________________________________PeoplePC OnlineA better
> way to Internethttp://www.peoplepc.com
>  
>
> =
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Plan your
> next roadtrip with MapQuest.com:
> America 's #1 Mapping
> Site.
>
>
>
>
>
>