if u ever find the city of tiny apples, i'll tell u

“While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me.As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea. 


When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task.
He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish. there were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach.


One man alone could never make a difference.


He smiled as he picked up the next starfish. Hurling it far into the sea he said,
"It makes a difference for this one."


I abandoned my writing and spent the morning throwing starfish.”

~adapted from

The Starfish Thrower

by Loren Eiseley