Today I got this in the mail. It made me cry. I hope you do too.
What would you do? You make the choice! Don't look
> for a punch line; There
> isn't one! Read it anyway. My question to all of
> you 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 if Shay
> could play, not expecting much. 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 put on a
> team shirt with a broad
> smile and his Father had 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 'cause 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 the other
> team 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 be
> able to 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, but 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 head of
> the first baseman, 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 ran that far
> but 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 second base.
>
> By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the
> right fielder had the
> ball, the smallest guy on their team, who had a
> chance to be the
> hero for his team for the first time. He could
> have thrown the ball to the
> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the
> pitcher's
> intentions and 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, the opposing shortstop ran
> to help him and turned
> 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
> those watching were on their feet were screaming,
> "Shay, 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 and 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 think twice
> about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene
> pass
> freely through cyberspace, but public discussion
> about decency is too often
> suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
Basically I'm supposed to forward the email but i reckon if its here, maybe one person might read it before automatically deleting. i refuse to believe Malaysians are becoming colder, more kiasu, more narrow, more selfish, losing our moral fibre, losing our creativity (no, not the kind you go to uni for..im talking about common sense, the will to think!), losing our passion and not assuming responsibility for our actions even though the evidence points to the contrary. We just gotta be reminded every once in awhile, so here ya go...WAKE UP!!!!!!
