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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,
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
mine 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: The little boy and his father
had walked past a park where some boys were playing baseball.
The little boy asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?"
His father knew that most of the boys would not want someone
like his son on their team, but he also understood that if his
son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense
of belonging. He approached one of the boys on the field and
asked if his son could play.
The boy looked around for guidance and, getting none, he took
matters into his own hands 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."
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the team scored a few runs
but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning,
the little boy put on a glove and played in the outfield. 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, the team scored again. Now,
with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run
was on base and the little boy was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, would they let him bat and give away their
chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, the little boy was given the bat. Everyone knew
that a hit was all but impossible because he didn't even know
how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as he stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved in
a few steps to lob the ball in softly so the little boy could
at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and he
swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps
forward to toss the ball softly towards the little boy. As the
pitch came in, he swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
right back to the pitcher.
The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily
thrown the ball to the first baseman. The little boy would have
been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead,
the pitcher took the ball and turned and threw the ball on a
high arc to right field, far beyond the reach of the first baseman.
Everyone started yelling," run to first! Run to first!"
Never in his life had he ever made it to first base. He scampered
down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled; Everyone yelled,
"Run to second, run to second!"
By the time he rounded first base, the right fielder had the
ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for
the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and intentionally
threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. The
little boy ran toward second base as the runners ahead of him
deliriously circled the bases toward home.
He reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him,
turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run
to third!" As the little boy rounded third, the boys from
both teams were screaming, " run home!" He 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."
This story above is all about a sense of community.
Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity..... or
do we pass up that opportunity, and leave the world a little
bit colder in the process?
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