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 humanity story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew
were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they will 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 are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth
inning. I guess he can be on our team and we will 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!
All the technology in the world will never replace a positive attitude.
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our
humanity. - Albert Einstein
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to
remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being
able to remake ourselves.
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