The Starfish

     An old man went walking along the beach at dawn and he saw ahead of him what he thought to be a dancer. A young man was running, rhythmically bending down to pick up a starfish and throw it into the sea. The old man gazed in wonder as the young man continued his dance across the sand rescuing hundreds of individual starfish as he threw them into the water. The man approached the boy and said, "Young man, what are you doing? This appears to be a waste of your time?" The boy replied, "I'm just trying to save the starfish. You see, if these starfish are left in the sun they will most assuredly die." "But son, don't you realize that there are thousands of miles of beach and millions of starfish. How can your single effort possibly make any difference?" The young man looked down at the starfish in his hand and threw it to safety in the sea. Looking up, he said to the old man, "Sir, it makes a difference to that one."