If this wasnt worth reading..i wouldnt put it up here.

I got this article in a mail that got forwarded to me by a colleague..i usually dont read forwarded mails and delete them without opening but since it came from a person who doesn't forwards anything until it makes some true sense,i decided to read it..Maybe putting this up on my blog is not such a good idea or maybe it is, but i honestly feel that this is a story thats worthy of being told- so here you goTwo ChoicesWhat would you do?....you make the choice. Don'tlook for a punch line, there isn't one. Read itanyway.

My question is: Would you have made the samechoice?At a fundraising dinner for a school that serveslearning-disabled children, the father of one of thestudents delivered a speech that would never beforgotten by all who attended. After extolling theschool and its dedicated staff, he offered aquestion: "When not interfered with by outsideinfluences, everything nature does is done withperfection.. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn thingsas other children do. He cannot understand things asother children do.

Where is the natural order ofthings in my son?"The audience was stilled by the query.The father continued. "I believe that when a childlike Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comesinto the world, an opportunity to realize true humannature presents itself, and it comes in the wayother people treat that child."Then he told the following story:Shay and his father had walked past a park wheresome boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shayasked, "Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay'sfather knew that most of the boys would not wantsomeone like Shay on their team, but the father alsounderstood that if his son were allowed to play, itwould give him a much-needed sense of belonging andsome confidence to be accepted by others in spite ofhis handicaps.Shay's father approached one of the boys on thefield and asked (not expecting much) if Shay couldplay.

The boy looked around for guidance and said,"We're losing by six runs and the game is in theeighth inning. I guess he can be on our team andwe'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with abroad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watchedwith a small tear in his eye and warmth in hisheart. The boys saw the father's joy at his sonbeing accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning,Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behindby three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay puton a glove and played in the right field. Eventhough no hits came his way, he was obviouslyecstatic just to be in the game and on the field,grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to himfrom the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning,Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and thebases loaded, the potential winning run was on baseand Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give awaytheir chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay wasgiven the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all butimpossible because Shay didn't even know how to holdthe bat properly, much less connect with the ball.However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, thepitcher, recognizing that the other team was puttingwinning aside for this moment in Shay's life, movedin a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaycould at least make contact. The first pitch cameand Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcheragain took a few steps forward to toss the ballsoftly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shayswung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball rightback to the pitcher.The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked upthe soft grounder and could have easily thrown theball to the first baseman. Shay would have been outand that would have been the end of the game.Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over thefirst baseman's head, out of reach of all teammates. Everyone from the stands and both teamsstarted yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!"Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but hemade it to first base. He scampered down thebaseline, wide-eyed and startled.Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towardssecond, gleaming and struggling to make it to thebase. By the time Shay rounded towards second base,the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guyon their team who now had his first chance to be thehero for his team. He could have thrown the ball tothe second-baseman for the tag, but he understoodthe pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionallythrew the ball high and far over the third-baseman'shead. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as therunners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the WayShay"Shay reached third base because the opposingshortstop ran to help him by turning him in thedirection of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!Shay, run to third!"As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, andthe spectators, were on their feet screaming, "Shay,run home! Run home!" Shay ran to home, stepped onthe plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit thegrand slam and won the game for his team."That day", said the father softly with tears nowrolling down his face, "the boys from both teamshelped bring a piece of true love and humanity intothis world".Shay didn't make it to another summer.

He died thatwinter, having never forgotten being the hero andmaking his father so happy, and coming home andseeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little heroof the day!AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all sendthousands of jokes through the e-mail without asecond thought, but when it comes to sendingmessagesabout life choices, people hesitate. The crude,vulgar and often obscene pass freely throughcyberspace, but public discussion about decency istoo often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message,chances are that you're probably sorting out thepeople 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 weall can make a difference. We all have thousands ofopportunities every single day to help realize the"natural order of things." So many seemingly trivialinteractions between two people present us with achoice: Do we pass along a little spark of love andhumanity or do wepass up those opportunities and leave the world alittle bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by howit treats it's least fortunate amongst them.