A story with a message

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

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, everythi ng 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 Bo ys 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 first! 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, g leaming 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!

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

May your day a Shay Day, overthrow first base once in a while.

[Root beer]

I read a similar story in my "chicken soup book for the baseball fan soul" or whatever the title was. That what baseball all about. ;D.

Great story. We should do the same execpt with fishing. ;D

[skillet]

 I don't know if I've ever been put in a situation that black or white. Have been in situations that were a lot more (maybe shades of) grey. Black or white is a lot easier to deal with, grey sucks.

 There were times when I did the right (don't know if that is the best word to use) and times when I didn't.

 Don't know if that makes me a good guy, an a**hole or just human...

                                                      As Ever,

                                                       Skillet

[Bluecraw]

Thanks for posting that.  We all need to be reminded that we can always be a little more kind and warm hearted to the people around us.  Hard to believe how much you can learn from a bunch of kids....

[Water Dog]

Great story.  Those boys learned that "winning" can take other forms than just points on the scorecard.

I helped start a baseball league when my kids were small, the deal was that everyone who came out would get to play.  This went on for several years and we added teams to the league to provide for the new players.  None were handicapped but many wouldn't have gotten to play in a league where only the best are drafted.  We had several leagues around that drafted only the best.

One of the kids on our team was very uncoordinated, couldn't bat well at all much less catch and throw.  In a crucial game the ball always goes to the weakest player.  In a case similar to Shay, we were ahead in the last inning, last out, bases loaded and the other teams best player came to bat with the bases loaded. He hit a high fly to left field where our weakest player, "Wilson", was stationed.  The runners on the bases started to move and the ball started coming down to Wilson.  Wilson stuck his glove up in the air and never moved a step.  Our team and fans were watching and holding their breath.  We saw the championship game slipping away.  The opposing team and fans were screeming and hollering.  The ball settled in Wilson's glove and he held on.  Our little team mobbed Wilson.  This was "little league" and I never saw Wilson after that season.  I don't know if he moved or what.  I do know that he will always remember that one play and I hope the boys remember.

Wilson probably became an "investment banker" or some such but he got to play little league.

[lunchbox508]

We should do the same execpt with fishing. ;D

This is so true.

[frogtog]

Good post LBH Great Story.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

We should do the same execpt with fishing. ;D

This is so true.

Anyone can make a difference. www.castforkids.org

Skillet- you are human, asking yourself if you did the right or wrong thing is just a sign that you care but might not have ALL the answers. Trying is worth just as much as doing.

Waterdog- That's awesome!!

[justfishin]

Doggone you LBH. I am fifty years old. I don't need to be sitting here getting all watery eyed. That was one of the nicest stories I have ever heard. Thanks. Boy, if the world could only get into that frame of mind a lot of problems could be solved. Again, thanks.

[bocabasser]

great story LBH. being a fifth grade teacher, i have seen first hand the amazing compassion that some kids posess. when a kid "overthrows" the ball to make another feel accepted it truly comes from that kids heart. some kids just have that "loving nature", some don't. fortunately for shay and his father, ALL of those kids on that field that day had it. now let me go wipe my eyes so my students don't see me crying. again, great story.

[Shad_Master]

Several years ago, my daughter was in a YWCA basketball league for 5th graders.  Since I had to take her practice and then pick her up when it was over, I hung around and was asked to be the assistant coach.  When we were in the third game of the season, there were several girls who had not had a chance to play, including my daughter.  As the game progressed, one of the girls asked the coach if she could play, the coach said to her "do you want to play or do you want your team to win?".  I was blown away.

The next week, the coach had to work during the Saturday game and so I had to take over.  I had substitutes rotating in on every occasion and all the girls got to play.  The score keepers were getting frustrated keeping track of the substitutions and even asked me slow down.  But we won that game - first win of the season.  The coach missed the next two games and I did the same thing - both wins.  The coach returned for the next game and went back to his regular way of picking players and we lost, but had enough wins to make it to the tournament (real short season in 5th grade) and he rotated like I had been doing.  We lost, by two points at the buzzer, but the Team celebrated because they were beat by a team they had played earlier in the year and that had blown them out.

There's a lot of talk about too much emphasis on being "politically correct" and not doing things to lower someone's self-esteem.  But my philosophy is, you can't compete if you can't get in the game.  My daughter lost all interes in basketball after that year, but I still remember and hope the coach does too.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Doggone you LBH. I am fifty years old. I don't need to be sitting here getting all watery eyed. That was one of the nicest stories I have ever heard. Thanks. Boy, if the world could only get into that frame of mind a lot of problems could be solved. Again, thanks.

I had to wipe one away as well.

Great story.

Wayne

[RiskKid.]

Heartwarming and thought provoking. They say kids can be cruel but just goes to show they can have a heart of gold too!

[Cigarlover 1]

Great story! It's all too easy to get caught up in the busy day to day life we adults have to live and forget the basics of life. It's good to see stories like this to bring us back down to earth.  

Probably about once a week I somehow end up stopping and thinking what a simple life I had as a kid and how easy it was back then to take it for granted because I didn't know any different. The kids from this story truly do have big hearts and because of that they made a huge difference in peoples lives. Good for them!

Live, Learn and Act.

[BassChaser57]

Doggone you LBH. I am fifty years old. I don't need to be sitting here getting all watery eyed. That was one of the nicest stories I have ever heard. Thanks. Boy, if the world could only get into that frame of mind a lot of problems could be solved. Again, thanks.

Ditto

[razyrsharpe]

Outstanding story.  hopefully, we should all learn lessons from our kids.  they can teach us alot.  all we have to do is listen once in a while.