Two Choices 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 children with learning disabilities, 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, David, 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 David, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'
David and I had walked past a park where some boys David knew were playing baseball. David asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like David on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my 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.
I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if David 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.' David struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, David's team scored a few runs but was still behind three.
In the top of the ninth inning, David 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 I waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, David's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and David was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let David bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, David was given the bat.
Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because David didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as David stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in David's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so David could at least make contact. The first pitch came and David swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards David. As the pitch came in, David 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. David 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, 'David, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had David 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, David awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time David 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. David ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases towards home. All were screaming, 'David, David, David, all the Way David' David 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! David, run to third!' As David rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'David, run home! Run home!'
David 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'. David didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
We all read thousands of jokes through the blogs without a second thought, but when it comes to spreading messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through people, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces. If you're thinking about spreading this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, I believe that we all can make a difference with small messages like this.
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 those opportunities 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.
You now have two choices:
1. Read & Forget
2. Read & Spread the message.
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