Third chioce:
Old as hell and have had it sent to me 100 times in the past.
Nice story though.
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "Michael W. Brim" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
> 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 fi rst! 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 supp ressed 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
>
>
>
>
> Michael W. Brim
> 321 Sunset Ave. 5F
> Asbury Park NJ 07712
> Cell: 732-996-8160
>
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