telling a good story

i was sent by ms. d an email extolling humanity, it said at the bottom to send it to many people. but i thought, i'd rather post it here for i believe that it proves the point that i posted it therefore i am [i don't know though if cogito ergo sum still applies].

The Story of Shay

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.

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 to brighten the day of those with
us the least able, 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. May your day be a Shay Day sunny today & always ......


"NOT ALL SMILES COMES IN A FORM OF JOKES"