choices...

[s a m i]

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 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. Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play.

The boy looked around for guidance and, getting none, he took matters into his own hands 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."

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 outfield.

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, 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 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 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 took the ball and turned and threw the ball on a high arc to right field, far beyond the reach of the first baseman.

Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!"

Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"

By the time Shay rounded first base, the right fielder had the ball.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases toward home.

Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!"

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams 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."

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.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people on your address list that 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 that opportunity, and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

[Galen]

"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection."

hmm, every hurricane?

every earthquake?

every rain storm?

every drought?

[Belle]

Awwww, Sami, this was also posted earlier this week: LG & Sudo's stories

You might enjoy the discussions that we had regarding your story and LG's which is also heartwarming.

[karmicdebt]

Galen,

Absolutely! Perfection doesn't mean good or positive. Perfection is not without loss...necessarily

[coolchef1248 @adelphia.net]

is that why wife calls me the perfect foot h.....l lol

[Stayed Too Long]

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?

I believe this to be a completely false statement and anyone with more knowledge is certainly incouraged to correct me if my assumptions are wrong.

To begin with what is an outside influence? Is it anything that disrupts the way things normally occur? Is a tree parasite for instance, an outside influence, or is it natures way of destoying a certain type of tree, in order to develop another? Or clear a forest for some other use? When nature makes a mistake it is corrected through selection. The only way a change in nature can get past selection is by adaptation. Those who can not adapt die. Therefore nature is always evolving into what is strongest, so there is no perfection, only change. There is no will or thought involved, only the strongest surviving.

If man is only defined as the outside influence, he can and has elected to alter the course of nature, in some seemly good ways, and in some not so seemly good. In the case of this young boy, a good outcome, because society and his parents have intervened to allow him to live. If he were on his own his chances of survival would be slim. Man has also changed nature is some poor ways.

To me there are always outside influences present. The only question is are they stronger than the norm. If the norm is stronger, things go on as usual. If the outside influences prevail there will be change. Again nothing is perfect only surviving.

[krys]

I think I know what you're getting at! You're talking about decent people behaving decently in a nurturing society. I think "in a perfect world" most of us would like to see the same kind of behavior all over every day.

But the world isn't perfect. One day a coach could have bad heartburn because he bolted his lunch and he doesn't act "normally" because he's got a belly ache. Not that that's an excuse, that's just how life is sometimes.

In the case you wrote about, everybody made the "right" choice all the way through and Shay was proud and happy and everyone learned what "good" is.

But not everyone has the same definition of "good" and even if we did, there are times when for whatever reason, we just don't do whatever it is that would be "good". Sometimes I think "good" is a fantasy, really.

On the other hand, when that one time in a thousand happens that's really "good" drink in all the sweetness of it all so you'll have the memories to cherish.There's a rather trite saying "God gave is memories so we could have roses in December".

If you really want to know what I would have chosen, I can't give you an answer because I can't see myself in the situation so I don't know how I would have fit in.

If you're asking me whether I'd pass the email on, I don't know that either. When these things come in my email, sometimes I don't read them because I know who sent them and we disagree so much, I don't want to go thee. Mostly I read them, and if they strike a chord with me I may pass it on to a few friends. But I never pass these things on to a certain select group because I try to allow for people's differences and I have the time to invest in thinking about it.

Well -- that was a bigger ramble than I intended and I don't think you got an answer anyway......

[tcat5]

Sami (she'e one hot mama!) and I wishI could hold her.Any way that you for that story. It makes me think there still a chance for us humans, to be caring persons.

And I hope you are happy! You've made me leak all over the place. And not in the way a baby leaks. just mean i'm crying. love tcat