Be A Peacemaker, You Will Feel At Peace

When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. This story originally was told by Rabbi Paysach Krohn, an author of many books on life. He says he knows the child’s father and it is true. However on the Internet, it says in a few instances that it is a made-up story. The Rabbi insists it is true. So I will relate it to you, my readers and it is for you to decide and whether it is false or true, it carries a good lesson with its telling for all of us. Here is the story.

 
“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, 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. Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, Do you think they'll let me play? I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay 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 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.. 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, 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 I 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 me so happy and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

 The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

 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 its least fortunate citizens.”

I had three handicapped persons in my family. Each of them went through tough times when they lost out on jobs and opportunities due to their disability; however each in their own way overcame and won out in the long run.

George was born blind but he went to a seeing school for high school and it was a wonderful and new thing for a blind boy to go to a sighted school. Ruth did the same. She went to a sighted all-girls school and went on to find a marvelous job in industry in New York City and a sighted husband and their story I have told about extensively in other Patch articles. Mike the older brother lost his hearing and his ability to speak from being misdiagnosed after an illness he contracted about at the age of nine. He went on to become a successful printer and he raised two kids and he had a loving wife.

They did not always find it easy to obtain their individual successes and they all resisted lots of help.

Someone along the way of each of the three always interjected themselves and tried to squelch them from succeeding.This in turn  helped them to be inspired to do well and not to let inferior people to try and deter them.

The Rabbi’s story whether fiction or non-fiction teaches us how to light up someone’s life. Even a small reward can turn the life around of the recipient and also can change your life around too; as being the person who aided the injured or handicapped person.

Let us all help someone who comes in our path and for us to light up their life even if the good deed is tiny. A good deed is not measured by its size in inches; it is measured by the amount of assistance and the problem that was solved. I would rather help someone who really needed support and accommodation even in a tiny way especially if they were truly handicapped; than to aid someone who thought they needed support or an ‘in’ of being popular.

Ruth when a youngster asked her mom every night if she was going to die because of course, her world was dark whether she kept her eyes open or closed. My grandmother told her of course not.

I wrote a letter to the president of the college I went to at age thirty-three. I spoke of how they had been withholding the full professorship to a talented, knowledgeable, kind and caring professor for several years and we the students were protesting this in his behalf. I also sent the same letter to the local newspaper.

A week later, he received what was held back from him and they awarded the long due full professorship which elated this man of knowledge and kindness. Now he had what he deserved and a letter of probably three hundred words or less expressed what we as students knew; he should get his full and long awaited tenure and honor.

I did this again many years after the above letter. I wrote one to a religious organization about one of their clergymen who was obnoxious to a student in the religious school and to her mother. He also was obnoxious to the senior clergyman by showing a complete irreverent attitude to the older man as the older person was retiring and he the younger one was so disrespectful.

 One evening they had a meeting of the congregation members and the officers of it too. He took an easel with posters on it and he put it in front of the retiring beloved elder statesman and thereby no one could see the man since he was of a short in stature height. This younger one was explaining to the audience some points he was going to install for the congregation and no one could view the older retiring one. The new one showed ugliness for the student and her mother when he did not give her the reward of being valedictorian because of her good grades and a graduating project she had really won out over the other students. He rewarded the granddaughter of another member who often contributed lots of money to the organization. So the older outgoing clergyman heard the obnoxious younger man telling this to the mom and the deserving child; not that it was because the grandfather was a wealthy giver, it was that she was the outstanding student and not the real deserving child. The outgoing clergyman rewarded the young girl with the saledictorian honor so she received what was due her for her hard work in the school and the delightful art project fulfillment she had created for the school.

A few weeks later the nasty one was fired because of these two incidents and other ones too. By the mother complaining about the wrong child being rewarded, it was cleared up and all was well and ‘Mr. Obnoxious-Disrespectful One’ was gone. I have heard through the grapevine that he never rose higher in any new jobs he acquired out of town in any position that required respect, honor and kindness.

The moral of these true happenings is doing well is excellent for all concerned. You the do-gooder are an honest individual and by helping others, he or she reaps great rewards and happiness and the recipients of those exquisite words or deeds calls the giver a peacemaker.  “Blessed are the peacemakers for they are the Children of God.” This is what the professor wrote to me in a thank you note and surely he was one himself. The old saying is “to know one is to be one.”

It sure feels great to be a peacemaker. You will have run to ‘home’ and you surely touched the plate as Shay did.