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atc007
02-22-2013, 06:57 AM
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..'

Shaystruggled 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 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 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 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 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.

jeswinehart
02-22-2013, 07:23 AM
Very nice !!! Thank you for sharing.

tri again
02-22-2013, 07:27 AM
You guys really up at 3am? or are these posts datestamped per timezone?

Hey 00, really want to read that post but have to find my glasses.

atc007
02-22-2013, 08:39 AM
You guys really up at 3am? or are these posts datestamped per timezone?

Hey 00, really want to read that post but have to find my glasses.


Lol,,5 here. Used to milk cows ya know.. Once a farmer,always farmer.

tri again
02-22-2013, 08:52 AM
Lol,,5 here. Used to milk cows ya know.. Once a farmer,always farmer.

welp?
found my glasses and man enough to admit I needed tissues after that story.

Thanks 00.

Helps keep things in perspective.

You still have critters?

I just have canadian geese and deer.

riverrat
02-22-2013, 09:39 AM
The meek shall inherit the earth.

LastFoolerInVA
02-22-2013, 11:10 AM
Our children will inherit the earth, if we can teach them compassion, maybe they can do better than we did...

Great story, true sportsmanship...

pipeline triker
02-22-2013, 11:24 AM
Very good read.. Thanks for posting.

briano
02-22-2013, 02:52 PM
I have a good friend that is, lets say "mentally challenged". He is 36 years old and basically has the mentality of a child. I'm 35 and have known him for about 20 years or so, let me tell you, there isn't a minute of the day that he isn't happy. Up until 2 years ago I had no idea why he is the way he is, he told me that he had a seizure right after being born and it starved his brain for oxygen. I don't know how or why but BJ (his nickname) has always had a special place in my heart. I even got him a job where I work, he comes in and sweeps, cleans up the shop and washes our tow trucks. He is a hell of a worker and willing to help out any way that he can. It's kind of funny because BJ is liked by everyone, you can't take him anywhere without someone knowing him and wanting to stop and gab for a while, it's like being with a celebrity.

So, it is very nice to see stories like this where doing something special can make a big difference for somebody else. Even something simple to you may be huge to another person.

Cave Rider
02-22-2013, 03:42 PM
Good read !!! As a parent of a child,I must say this hit a soft spot...God bless the hearts of those less fortunate...thanks for sharing.

atc007
02-23-2013, 06:37 AM
I have a good friend that is, lets say "mentally challenged". He is 36 years old and basically has the mentality of a child. I'm 35 and have known him for about 20 years or so, let me tell you, there isn't a minute of the day that he isn't happy. Up until 2 years ago I had no idea why he is the way he is, he told me that he had a seizure right after being born and it starved his brain for oxygen. I don't know how or why but BJ (his nickname) has always had a special place in my heart. I even got him a job where I work, he comes in and sweeps, cleans up the shop and washes our tow trucks. He is a hell of a worker and willing to help out any way that he can. It's kind of funny because BJ is liked by everyone, you can't take him anywhere without someone knowing him and wanting to stop and gab for a while, it's like being with a celebrity.



So, it is very nice to see stories like this where doing something special can make a big difference for somebody else. Even something simple to you may be huge to another person.

Well said. My Brother was born with the chord around his neck and has been MR all his life. He is 60 now. Lights up every room he walks in. Now he's physically handicapped from a botched hip replacement and Charcots Maries Tooth Disease. Between him and my Daughters. My Life revolves around special needs. It is my life. Just one act of random kindness can grow into something very huge and real. Really glad to see this struck a chord!! Thanx guys. And no Tri again. No bossies of any kind any more : ((

whyzee
02-23-2013, 07:33 AM
Wow...the things most of us take for granted everyday.
I think everyone who reads and retains this story is going to act a little different , even if it's just for a day.
Thanks for sharing Bill. I set this as my FB status.

MyMistress86R
02-27-2013, 01:27 AM
Thank you atc007...I needed that.

mooseknuckle
03-06-2013, 12:04 AM
Thanks for sharing. I too posted this to fb

atc007
08-09-2015, 09:38 PM
Searching for the program Fabio used to keep track of his book. Open office I think?? Anyhow, This popped up. So, BUMP lol

danbur55
08-09-2015, 10:16 PM
Thanks we as a society need to get over the "me syndrome" and pass along something better than what we are giving. Saddest part Is our government mimicking us or are we mimicking the government ??? Since when is Piti s a career??? (Oops that might step on toes) but we need to stop the madness somehow. Thanks again for sharing as we all should shed tears

coolpool
08-10-2015, 12:25 AM
Extremely moving and gives hope to some of the lesser deeds we see and hear about everyday. Truly refreshing to say the least, thanks Bill! We all need to give some time; karma is real in my books!

Jmoozy27
08-10-2015, 01:48 AM
Being aggressive and competitive is human instinct. Victory should not come at someone else's expense. Especially the less fortunate. I truly believe that assisting someone in need is the best form of winning. Little helpful gestures go a long way and are not easily forgotten. Going the extra mile is almost a lost art. Good read 007...:cool:

Onetrackmind
08-10-2015, 01:54 PM
Fantastic story. Thank you for sharing.

onformula1
08-10-2015, 07:37 PM
Thank you for that story I have emailed it to friends, but especially my mom.

My mom was a teacher for special needs children for 20 years, she is retired now because of health issues she could not continue, but she still drives 3 hours once a month to take them to lunch and bowling. ..a tough job she truly loved.

Sent from my SM-G386T1 using Tapatalk

dustrunner
08-25-2015, 09:04 PM
very touching 007....thanks...now i'm wondering were tears come from ? must be the heart .

Devilsclaw
08-25-2015, 10:37 PM
Got somthin in my eye