I'm not in the habit of forwarding those emails on that have a threat or a promise at the end ... but this story gave me more than goosebumps, and I felt it was a fitting reminder to us all of the beauty to be found in others... (a belief that may be slightly lacking if you've been battling Christmas shopping crowds and car-parking nightmares this week.)
Warning - tissues required...
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 (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,
gleaming 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 be a Shay Day
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