Only great minds can read this
This is weird, but interesting!

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it.

I know this email is like so outdated but it just made me feel smart HAHA.

Marliyana ada banyak cerita niari. Marliyana tak tau nak mula dari mana. Random k.

Marliyana lapar. satu hari cuma makan kuih belanda (yang biscuit roll tu), nasi minyak pat jemputan tengahari tadi dan 1 roti sardine bersalut telur. Tapi kat rumah tinggal maggi je and Marliyana ngah pikir banyak-banyak kali pasal MSG dalam maggi. Marliyana taknak jadi bodoh. Marliyana suka jadi pandai.

Marliyana niari bangun awal. Pukul 2 pagi bangun belajar Tafsir, pukul 4 tertido, pukul 5 bangun balik, pukul 6 tertido, pukul 7 bangun balik. Alhamdulillah dapat habis 90% ulangkaji, tapi bila duduk untuk exam tu cam tak tahu cammane nak apply. Lagi-lagi kertas 2, closed book, dia mintak hukum yang rajih (ni ok jugak) berserta hujjah-hujjah ulama'-ulama'! Nama ulama' semua dah mixed up, apa tak nye ada agaknya 20-30 hukum. Nak hafal ayat-ayat Qur'an & hadith-hadith tak kesampaian, jadi exam tu tulis ajelah sehampir mungkin dengan dall-dalil yang ingat. Tak exact words.

Exam tafsir tu kat Jurong West, dekat dengan NTU/NIE. Lepas kertas 1, Marliyana langsung mulakan Kertas 2, tanpa rehat 1/2 jam seperti lazimnya sebab Marliyana nak cepat. Lepas Kertas 2, Marliyana singgah asrama jap, pastu ikut parents gi jemputan kat Chai Chee. Pat jemputan ada kawan dari masjid istighfar, kenal dari ITQAN & qiyam pat En-Naeem kelmarin, jadi kendarat. Tapi tengok dia, dia buat bodoh, takde wajah untuk menunjukkan dia recognise Marliyana pon, jadi Marliyana pon buat bodoh ah. Makanan pat jemputan tu sedap, rasanya sama caterer dengan caterer untuk majlis makcik Marliyana minggu lalu. Creative kalau tak silp. Gitu lah namanya.

Lepas Zohor, Marliyana gi madrasah pat Tampines pulak, untuk Kertas Kepimpinan Dalam Islam. Marliyana rasa Kertas 1 okeh, tapi sebahagian daripada Kertas 2 susah sangat. Marliyana main hentam aje.

Lagi 5-10 minit nak tamat peperiksaan, Marliyana hantar kertas sebab dah tak boleh fiir lagi. Marliyana jumpa parents pat Afghanistan, minum bandung dalam beberapa teguk sahaja terus jalan-jalan sikit ngan mak. Baju-baju dekat daerah situ lawa-lawa, dan walaupun rasa perlu untuk beli baju baru, Marliyana tak beli sebab tak bawak duit lebih, dan malas nak withdraw. At last, mak Marliyana belanja beli 2 pyjamas, sebab pyjamas yang ada dah tinggalkan kat asrama. $6 kat lelong, murah lah tu.

Malam, Marliyana ikut mak dan makcik Marliyana jalan-jalan kat Tampines. Nak katakan shopping, boleh jugak arh. Marliyana beli 2 kasut & 1 seluar tracks. Memang dah lama nak beli kasut, untuk pakaian semi-formal kat sekolah & untuk bila pakai jubah (tak senonoh gitu pakai jubah abistu pakai kasut $6.90 yang mak label sebagai 'kasut nyonya' yang Marliyana biasa pakai tu), jadi bila ada kasut semurah $10.80 & $15.90, Marliyana belilah.

Itu je kejadian hari ni sebenarnya...

Tapi adalah hal-hal lain. Marliyana masih memikirkan tentang apa yang Marliyana 'belajar' Jumaat & Sabtu lalu. Walaupun Marliyana belum dapat menerima semuanya dan memberikan kata akhir, sekurang-kurangnya, Marliyana rasa Marliyana dah mempunyai suatu pendirian yang sesuai buat masa ni, supaya tak terlalu stress fikirkan ni.

Marliyana rasa Marliyana banyak stress kebelakangan ni. Sebab asyik pening-pening kepala macam migraine. Nak jumpa doktor macam tak perlu, tapi takut jugak kalau ada apa-apa tak kena. Semoga dijauhkan sebarang penyakit dan musibah. Amin. Lebih-lebih lagi Marliyana baru-baru ni dengar cerita ada orang sakit-sakit kepala, rupanya darah tinggi sampai satu hari tahap tekanan darahnya terlalu tinggi sehingga urat dalam otak pecah menyebabkan stroke sebelah badan dan kehilangan kebolehan untuk berkata-kata.

Oh, kelmarin bila Marliyana pergi Body Worlds, Science Centre & Imax Theatre dengan Harizah & Mahmudah, case kamera Marliyana hilang. Dah cari & dah laporkan, sekarang Marliyana redha & tawakkal sahaja. Mudah-mudahan Marliyana dapat balik, tapi kalau tak, mungkin Allah akan gantikan dengan yang lebih baik... Cuma, kalau Marliyana hilang kebolehan untuk menggerakkan setengah badan atau untuk bercakap, tu Marliyana tak pasti jikalau Marliyana dapat redha & tawakkal. Mudah-mudahan dijauhkan musibah seperti itu...

Tadi petang, ada kawan tu sms Marliyana, tapi mungkin cara Marliyana kurang menyenangkan hati, Marliyana rasa dia merajuk dengan Marliyana. Marliyana tak tau apa nak buat. Marliyana tak pandai nak pujuk orang, lebih-lebih lagi melalui sms. Nak call, Marliyana macam takut pulak kalau dia marah dengan Marliyana. Jadi Marliyana buat bodoh. Serba salah pulak rasanya. Tapi Marliyana benar-benar ada hal Selasa malam ni... Memang boleh skip, tapi... entah. sememangnya Marliyana serba salah.

Besok malam kawan Marliyana nak pergi Laos, bukan untuk Sea Games, tapi untuk buat kebajikan. Marliyana rasa Marliyana nak hantar dia sampai airport. Marliyana suka jalan-jalan kat airport sebenarnya. Marliyana rindu sangat nak naik kapal terbang... tapi...

Parents Marliyana dah benarkan Marliyana bercuti dengan kawan sepanjang dua minggu ke Australia bulan Jun depan. Marliyana pon dah bilang kawan Marliyana tu. Sekali, bila belajar untuk exam Tafsir tadi, Marliyana terlintas dengan suatu hadith, tak pasti riwayat siapa, dan samada ia sahih atau tidak, tapi Marliyana yakin Ustaz cuma menggunakan yang sahih sahaja untuk menyokong hukum-hukum yang disebut dalam nota tu. Sabda Rasulullah s.a.w.: "seorang wanita tidak dibolehkan keluar bermusafir lebih dari tiga hari kecuali ada bersamanya mahramnya." Marliyana yakin parents & abang-abang Marliyana taknak (atau tak mampu, maklumlah bujang nak kahwin...) pergi Australia. Jadi, rasanya Marlliyana terpaksalah batalkan nist nak kesana, melainkan pada masa tu Marliyana dah ada suami, dan kemungkinan ini rasanya amat tidak berkemungkinan langsung... Tengoklah macam mana... Kalau ada rezeki dan telah ditetapkan Marliyana akan dapat jejak Australia, maka suatu hari nanti Marliyana akan jejak juga. Lagipun keluarga Marliyana sedang menghadapi sedikit kesempitan wang jugak, jadi... yelah...

Tapi Marliyana sedih jugaklah. Dah ghairah sungguh... Mungkin nanti Marliyana cari lebih lanjut pasal hadith tadi kott. Niat Marliyana nak pergi Australia pun, selain untuk 'lari daripada dunia Singapura 24/7' adalah untuk menziarahi Umairah untuk melihat keadaan belia-belia Muslim disana, dan untuk mengalami melihat kangaroo yang bermacam-macam jenis di sana sini serta mengalami snow, kalau berkesempatan.... Takpelah, Marliyana simpan niat tu baik-baik okeh.

Tadi semasa nak berjalan ke majlis jemputan, Marliyana nampak motor (vespa agaknya) warna pink yang comel dan lawa sekali. Bila Marliyana tunjuk mak Marliyana, mak Marliyana setuju ia cantik, dan lebih penting lagi, mak Marliyana setuju kos motor lebih murah, dan ia lebih laju maka ia merupakan sesuatu yang praktikal bagi seorang pelajar. Mak Marliyana nampak ok aje kalau Marliyana nak amek lesen motor. Kalau ye betul Marliyana cekal hati untuk dapatkan lesen motor, Marliyana nak dapat sebelum Ogos tahun depan, jadi bila Marliyana masuk tahun kedua, Marliyana tak perlu sewa asrama lagi, dan kos asrama serta kos makan minum dan tambang bas dan sebagainya dapat disalurkan untuk membayar harga motor dan minyak. Yang membuat Marliyana teragak-agak ialah Marliyana rasa malu nak belajar motor, memandangkan yang belajar motor kebanyakannya lelaki... Marliyana tak selesalah nak langkah naik motor semua depan lelaki...

Marliyana singgah kedai singtel & Starhub tadi. Marliyana amat tertarik dengan telefon bimbit Samsung Preston, Samsung Jet & Samsung Omnia II. marliyana sebenarnya dah sediakan wang untuk untuk hp baru, tapi cuma Marliyana malu nak tanya-tanya harga dekat kedai. Lebih-lebih lagi kalau tukang jual tu jenis yang tak kuasa nak layan orang. Maklumlah orang ramai beli i-phone, Marliyana tak pandang pon telefon tu. Bila malu, Marliyana gagap & teragak-agak nak berbual, sampai salesperson tu pon tak paham apa Marliyana nak. Yang Marliyana dapat tahu tadi, Singtel kira mengikut per minute billing, dan Samsung Preston berharga $48 dengan student plan...

Kelmarin Marliyana berasa ghairah tentang Persantren Kilat. Marliyana yakin sangat ia mungkin merupakan sesuatu yang dapat mendidik dan merubah Marliyana menjadi lebih berdisiplin sebagai seorang Muslimah dalam amalan-amalan harian. Marliyana pon dengar feedback yang positif dari Mahmudah. Tapi lepas Marliyana dapat ketahui lebih lanjut, Marliyana jadi kurang pasti pulak. Mudah-mudahan niat Marliyana yang asalnya tercapai, disamping mendapatkan pengalaman baru...

Marliyana rasa Marliyana dah tahu kenapa Marliyana bersikap sangat temperamental kebelakangan ini, dan Marliyana semacam tidak boleh mengawal perasaan marah atau irritated. Bukan sebab Marliyana rebellious. Marliyana cuma kehilangan kesabaran terhadap setiap yang berlaku. Marliyana perlu lebih relekskan diri dan minda supaya tidak terlalu wound-up... Ya Allah, berikanlah aku kesabaran...

Marliyana tak tau kenapa alih-alih Marliyana blog sebegini. Marliyana memang rasa lain semacam gitu, tapi tak apalah. Marliyana dah ngantok. Dah lebih satu jam Marliyana taip. Marliyana nak tido. Marliyana dah penat berfikir. Marliyana nak shut-down buat beberapa jam...

The following may sound boring, but I just wanna keep it in my blog... It's my final assignment for Prof Lum. He's a really interesting lecturer...

Name: Marliyana Binte Mohamad Noor
Module: AAB101 Biodiversity in Natural Ecosystems
Title: 3 Places I Would Like to Visit

Local - Singapore:

The first place that I would like to visit would be the coral reefs in Singapore. I travelled all the way to Terengganu last year (not that I regret it, though it is kind of far for someone like me who do not travel much) to take a look at the coral reefs at Pulau Redang, only to find out this year that Singapore has its own coral reefs! We have visited Sungei Buloh to take a look at the mangrove (partly land, partly water)habitat and Macritchie reservoir (land)to take a look at the forest habitat in Singapore as part of our Biodiversity module and it feels incomplete if I do not visit the coral reefs (water) as well. Coral reefs are afterall rainforests of the sea, as deemed by some.

Coral reefs are very sensitive to changes in its surroundings and around the world, many are being damaged by the rising temperature of the ocean caused by global warming. The rising water temperature has damaged the zooxanthellae that used to live symbiotically with the corals, causing an effect called bleaching on the corals. Zooxanthellae are important to the corals as they supply nutrients, produced during photosynthesis, to them. If the water temperature keeps on rising, and no new symbionts live with the corals to supply the food for them, before long coral reefs would be a thing of the past. Therefore, I must catch it before it’s too late.
In Singapore, hard corals reefs are commonly seen on many of our Southern shores and some are also found on our Northern shores. Eventhough our reefs are small in size, about 0.01% the size of the Great Barrier Reef only, there are actually about half as many coral species, right here in this island, which majority of the world cannot locate its location on the world map!

Most of the reefs are hidden from view in the sediment-laden waters, due to on-going coastal development, but it is said that during low tide, the water would clear up and some of the reefs would be revealed. I wouldn’t have to snorkel, much less to swim or dive. To think that they are just are just half an hour away from the city centre!


Regional – Philippines:

If I were to visit a rainforest in the region, it would definitely be the tropical rainforest on the Philippine islands of Bohol, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros and Palawan. The rainforests here are still in their pristine state. The description of the biodiversity of the rainforest by Angel C. Alcala is simply too captivating.
The crowns of the lower tree strata that formed a continuous forest canopy, effectively preventing light rays from penetrating to the forest floor, except in areas where the canopy was broken by fallen trees is something that one cannot experience in Singapore ‘forests’. The abundant climbing bamboos, rattan, tree ferns, palms, and lianas, ferns, aerial mosses, and orchids grew on tree trunks, decaying vegetation and leaf litter covering the forest floor, diverse small animals and lower plants are some of Angel’s description of the rainforest. According to her, inside the rainforest itself, there are many microhabitats that one may chance upon. Where else would I get to observe so much in one place?

Apart from seeing the plants and animals, here I get to feel the wetness and humidity of the surroundings, smell the decaying matter and hear the different animal calls and sounds of animal movements and the occasional breaking of twigs and branches in the day and the sounds of birds, frogs and insects at night. It seems that the rainforests in Philippines awakens all my senses.

There are an estimated 13,500 plant species, of which about 8,000 are flowering plants and variety of land vertebrate species, of which approximately 80 are amphibians, some 240 reptiles, 556 birds (resident and migratory), and 174 mammals. Of all these, 75 percent of the amphibians, 70 percent of reptiles, 44 percent of birds, and 64 percent of mammals are unique to Philippines only. In addition, there is a possibility of finding new species as well!

At the same time, sad to say, there is also a high probability of species extinctions here. Already some 52 native vertebrate species are in the critical or endangered categories, and a great many more are listed as threatened. So, once again, before many of these species go extinct, I would certainly want to take a look at them “live” before it’s too late. It was quite a saddening experience to walk into the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity to see the life-size animals on display and to know that they will never walk on the face of the earth again.


International – Australia

Australia is certainly another place not to be missed. Since it has been an island on its own for millions of years, its wildlife has been able to evolve independently to give interesting distinct flora and fauna. Australia is said to have the highest species richness of a country in the world. It is estimated that Australia has up to 900 different species, and out of this 900, 300 are unique to Australia only, as some of the earlier species interbreed with other species and then produce new hybrids.. Australia is a great place to study how time and isolation impacts biodiversity in a certain place. There are groups of animals whose relatives have long since disappeared from other parts of the world.

Australia has about 300 species of mammals in total and it is the only continent to have all three types of mammals; the monotremes, the marsupials, and the placentals. The monotremes are the only mammals to lay eggs. The only three monotremes, the Platypus and two species of Echidna, and can all be found only in Australia, apart from New Guinea.

The marsupials are mammals whose young are born in an immature state and so, the females usually carry and nurse their young in pouches or pouch-like area on their abdomens. About half of the Australia’s native mammals are marsupials and most of the 140 species of marsupials there are found nowhere else in the world; except New Guinea. Of course, Australia is widely known for its koala bears and kangaroos, which are marsupials. In fact, Australia has over 60 species of different types of kangaroos. There are big red kangaroos, gray kangaroos, wallabies, rock wallabies, wallaroos, pademelons and quokkas; the most familiar kangaroo probably being the Eastern Gray Kangaroos'. Some unique kangaroos are the tiny bunny rabbit sized ones called a 'musky rat kangaroo', and those that live in the canopy, called 'tree kangaroos'.

It is in Australia and the surrounding islands where the marsupials have really evolved to such a spectacular effect, whereby they have exploded into a diverse array of forms, to fill in the niches that are filled elsewhere by other mammals. Thus the monkeys and squirrels are replaced by possums, the carnivores are replaced by tiger cats or quolls and others, and the deer and antelope are replaced with kangaroos and wallabies.

Australia's biodiversity lies in those species that are found nowhere else. There are over 750 birds recorded living in or visiting it's shores, but there are more endemic species than any other country in the world. That is, about 300 species are found nowhere else on Earth. Most of the Australian birds are not at all closely related to those overseas, eventhough they may superficially resemble them. For example, there are robins that are not robins, flycatchers that are not flycatchers, magpies that are not magpies, magpie larks that are not magpies nor larks, and cuckoo-shrikes that are neither cuckoos nor shrikes. Probably the most important of these endemic birds are the `Honeyeaters'. This is the biggest family of birds in Australia and they can account for more than half the birds living in any given area.
The plants in Australia are also interesting to observe. The Eucalyptus plant symbolises Australia's vegetation and ecology and national identity in so many ways. There are hundreds and hundreds of species. They represent biodiversity in every sense of the world, for they also exhibit broad genetic diversity within the species, with some of the wider ranging species, like the 'Coolibah' and is found along dry river beds in the drier parts of the country and looks very different. Hybrids are also produced in different areas. They range in size from the bush like multi-stemmed mallees, to the giant Mountain Ash, which is the tallest flowering plant in the world.

And this was his reply to me when I submitted my assignment, via e-mail...

Dear Marliyana,

How are you?

Thank you for sending me your assignment.

What a fascinating choice of places? I hope you get to visit them soon, especially the Philippines, as there is very little left of its natural places and they are going fast. Palawan is still relatively green, and Mindanao in places, but safety might be an issue in parts of this beautiful island.

Maybe you can start with your next holiday?

Speaking of holidays, I hope you are enjoying a safe and happy one. See you in the New Year!

Best wishes,
Shawn

Such a sweet lecturer huh? He'a a unique lecturer and individual, Even his name is unique.... :D Prof LUM Shawn Kaihekulani Yamauchi (NSSE). Woah!

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Quran like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Quran?

Oh, and one more thing.

Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Quran being
disconnected

Makes you stop and think 'where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!

P.S. DO WHAT YOU THINK GOD WOULD WANT YOU TO DO WITH THIS EMAIL

"Ilmu is in the chest" - heard from Ust Fathurrahman in class..

There's a story I received in my e-mail inbox and would like to share:

Imam Ghazali( Radi Allahu anhu), the renowned Muslim scholar, was born in Tus, a small village near Mashhad. He lived in the fifth century hijrah.

In those days, students wishing to acquire higher knowledge of Islam travelled to Nishapur, which boasted several centres of learning and many teachers of repute. Ghazall( Radi Allahu anhu), after completing his preliminary education at home, arrived in Nishapur to pursue further studies. He was brilliant and was soon acclaimed by his tutors as the most studious and painstaking student. In order not to forget any finer points of erudition, he formed the habit of noting down all that he heard and learnt from his teachers. And then he meticulously rewrote them under various headings and chapters.

He treasured these notes as dearly as his life, or perhaps more.
Years later, he decided to return to his village. He tied all his prepared notes into a neat bundle and set forth in the company of a caravan. On the way, they were held up by a gang of highway thieves who robbed each traveller of all his valuables. And then it was Ghazali' Radi Allahu anhus turn. They searched him thoroughly, snatching away all that they wanted, and then laid hands on the tied bundle of notes.

"Take all that you want, but please do not touch this bundle," Ghazali( Radi Allahu anhu) pleaded. And the waylayers thought that there must be something very precious hidden in the bundle which Ghazali ( Radi Allahu anhu)was trying to save.

So they untied the bundle and ransacked the pages. What did they find? Nothing but a few written papers.

They asked: "What are these? Of what use are they?"

"Well, they may be of no use to you, but they are of great use to me," Ghazali( Radi Allahu anhu) answered.

"But of what use are they?" the robbers insisted.

"These are the fruits of my labour. If you destroy them, I am also ruinously destroyed.

All the years of my attainment go down the drain," Ghazali replied.

"So whatever you know is in here, isn't it?" one of them said.

"Yes," Ghazali ( Radi Allahu anhu)replied.

"Well, knowledge confined in a few papers, vulnerable to theft, is no knowledge at all.

Go and think about it and about yourself"

This casual but pungent remark by a commoner shook Ghazali( Radi Allahu anhu) to the core. He realised that he had studied as a parrot, jotted down all that he learned and crammed in into his mind. He found that he knew more, but he thought less. If he wanted to be a true student and a good scholar, he had to assimilate knowledge, think, ponder, deduce and then form his own judgement.

He set out seriously to learn the way he should, and became one of the greatest ulema in Islam. But in his advanced age, when he summarised his achievements, he said:

"The best counsel and admonition which changed my thinking, came to me from a highway robber."

Received this article in an e-mail and I was compelled to share. I'm neither an ahli-sirah nor a great astronomer or geologists, but I've heard of this and I believe in what the Qur'an says.

Moon Split
Did you ever know that the Moon was split?



This picture shows the location of the “Rocky Belt” which shows the moon was once split

Some NASA scientists were trying to study the internal structure of the moon to see what similarities it has with the Earth, and they said that they were surprised to find a ‘Belt of Rocks’ that goes from the surface of the moon right to the inner depths.
Being quite surprised, they gave this information to their geologists, who were also surprised, as they concluded that this couldn’t be unless the moon was once split and resealed. The rocks on the belt are a result of the impact during the time that the two halves of the moon recombined.

Allah revealed Surat al Qamar: “The hour has come near and the moon has split, and when they see a sign, they turn and say ‘this is a continuous magic’ and they disbelieved and followed their desires…”
This verse of the Quran was written in the days of the prophet Muhammad in Makkah more than 1400 years back

Sources:
Please log in to the Best WebSite from one of the Well known Scientist in the World Dr. Zaghloul El Naggar

English: http://www.elnaggarzr.com/Test_fre/English/index_E.asp



For more miracles, visit http://www.greatmiracles.com/page1002.html

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 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, 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 story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll 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'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. 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!

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.

(Truthfully, I don't know if I wouldd have taken the choice these boys had made. =( I hope the next time something like this happens to me, I would be reminded of this e-mail and of which is the RIGHT CHOICE to make...)