LA VIDA NO VALE NADA

Estanislao Contreras walked into the Palm Lounge trembling. He took a seat at the bar, ordered a draft and drained it in one gulp. He asked for a second.

"What's the problem, compadre?" Max Maxwell him.

He shook his head and then took a deep breath.

"I went to see Tony Zavaleta because I needed his spiritual insight."

"What did the good doctor tell you that has reduced you to this pathetic state?"

"I asked him about my future and he said that I was going to die alone and without any friends."

"So what! Stop kidding yourself. We're all going to die alone and without any friends. What did Jose Alfredo Jimenez say? 'We enter life crying and we exit life crying.'"

"But he delivered the verdict with such finality. I had this feeling that he was sentencing me to hell."

"Don't take Tony too seriously. He can be over dramatic at times. If his diabetes is acting up, he can be in one of his chupacabra moods."

"So you don't think I have anything to fear?"

"As your friend, let me break the sad news to you: You are going to die alone and without any friends."

"You won't be my friend?"

"I'll be dead."