Why We Rescue

Page last updated on Saturday, March 31, 2007.

Something to think about...

There's a story told about a man who went out after a fierce tropical storm to walk along the beach.  The violent storm had scoured the ocean bottom and thrown pieces of coral and thousands of starfish up onto the shore.  The man knew that the stranded starfish would surely die as the Sun rose higher and it became hotter.

After a time, the man saw a figure coming towards him down the beach. The figure kept walking, stooping, and then throwing something into the ocean. When they met, the man found that it was a small boy walking along throwing the stranded starfish back into the ocean. "What good can you possibly accomplish?", asked the man. "There are thousands of starfish that are stranded; you can't save all of them. What difference does it make if you save one or two?"

The little boy looked down at the starfish in his hand and said, "It makes a difference to this one."

...and that's why we rescue.

Author Unknown