I Had Tears When I Read This

Subject: 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 to all of you is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves 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: “Where is the natural order of things in my son?”

“When not interfered with by outside influences, everything the almighty does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shaq, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. And he is 7 feet tall and weighs 300 pounds? 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 Shaq, 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:

Shaq and his father had walked past a stadium where some people Shaq knew were playing basketball. Shaq asked, Do you think they'll let me play? Shaq's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shaq 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.

Shaq's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shaq could play, not expecting much. The boy looked around for guidance and said, “We're losing by sixteen points, and the game is in the fourth period. I guess he can be on our team seeing as how he is extremely large.”

Shaq 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. Shaq's team scored a few points but was still be hind by three. Even though the game was closer, they put Shaq into the game. And even though nobody passed him the ball, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands.

As time wound down, Shaq’s team closed the gap and was down by only 1. There was the choice – do they let Shaq stay in the game and risk the chance that he might get fouled and have to shoot free throws or do they pull him?

They left Shaq in the game. The opposing team, recognizing Shaq’s situation, left him unguarded so that he could catch a pass. Then, in an extreme act of kindness, they all mauled him in an obvious foul. Shaq would get to shoot free-throws.

As Shaq stepped up to the foul line to shoot his first shot, the crowd began chanting, “Shaq, Shaq.” His shot was straight as an arrow with very little arc, but after it bricked against the back rimmed and up into the backboard, it miraculously fell through the hoop. Shaq had made a free-throw.

By now, the crowd was in a frenzy. All were screaming, "Shaq, Shaq, Shaq, all the Way Shaq"

Shaq dribbled once, twice, thrice and then held the small basketball in one of his giant hands. His huge arm cocked like a rocket launcher, and he let ball fly like a catapult launching a golf ball. Again, the trajectory was absolutely flat if not slightly downward. The force of the ball impacting the front of the rim not only bounced the ball 20 feet into the air above, but it immediately shattered the plexiglass backboard and caused the rim to fall to the ground below. As the rim clanked onto the floor, with glass falling all around, the ball fell from high above and landed directly in the middle of the hoop. Shaq had won the game!

“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.”

Shaq never forgot being the hero for a day. Instead of dying, he decided to become a multi-millionaire NBA player despite his handicaps.

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 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.

You now have two choices:
1. Pass this inspirational story along to any 7 foot tall 300 pounders that you know; or
2. Forget about this and get back to your spreadsheets.

Which one will you choose?