Better than the alternative

　
The other day, I spoke with a friend whom I hadn’t seen in a while. He told me that he

and his wife had just returned from vacation. They had visited a very scenic place. Their

destination had consisted of high peaks covered with Pine trees. In between many of these

peaks, there were lush, green valleys. In some of the valleys, there was rapid-moving water.

The river was clear and blue.




During this time, my friend had celebrated his birthday. As he is getting on in years, I did

not broach the topic of age. In fact, when I asked him if he had enjoyed his birthday, my friend

replied in the affirmative. Then he said something which I found interesting. He said that having

birthdays was “ better than the alternative.”