Faust, Part Three

People sometimes ask me how I stay looking and feeling young, and the answer is really very simple. Years ago, I made a bargain with the Devil.

            We were chatting over tapas one afternoon, and I said, “Devil, can we make a deal?”

            “It’s not without precedent,” he said.

            “Okay. If I eat well and do moderate exercise, can I still have a few beers on the weekend and not, you know, get super-pathetic super-fast?”

            “I don’t see why not.”

            “Great. Do you, um, want my soul or anything?”

            “Nah,” he said. “I have so many already. Honestly, they’re more burden than joy to me these days.”

            “I’m sorry to hear that. Still, I feel like I should do something.”

            “How about buying me a beer?”

            “Done.”

            That was twenty years ago. He still sends me notes of encouragement from time to time.