End of Days

End of Days

gknapton

Hundreds of lives have been saved, the TV said.

The newsreader was talking about blood donors but later firemen and after that new speed cameras on the M20.

Hundreds of lives, I thought.

All milling around having just been saved.

Not knowing they shouldn't be here now.

Wow! What a saving.

Save fifty percent on your next car insurance premium and home contents too, the radio said.

All these extra incentives for new customers.

All those Dolby stereos and bass bins and windscreens and handbags in the glove box.

All those Wii's and HDTV's and pictures of gran before the accident.

Previously sitting targets. Now sitting to be saved.

It said so on the radio.

Incredible best-ever savings now available on cars with new plates from the first day of next month.

See your local dealer now!

That's what the front page of the local mart rag said.

I saw it when I went for milk at the Asian man's shop downstairs.

Unreal, I thought, as I passed over the money. 

All that free road tax and air con and heated seats and sat nav so nobody ever gets lost again.

Alloys too probably.

Save save save.

Save one month's rental and get unlimited texts and fifty pounds cold hard cash back on the N97 and other selected Nokias.

This is what the billboard really said. It really did say this.

Throwing savings indiscriminately at the all and sundry who pass by as they go about their days.

The temptation to save like it was the end of days.

There is no tomorrow. 

Get your savings in now.

But what happens to all these savings ? I got to thinking.

And why can't you round them all up ?

Get all those hundreds of saved lives and put them safely inside their fully comp homes so they can chat away safely on all the years of free call time that I just saw being given away twenty feet above the entrance to Tesco.

The saved now the savers.

Never again relying on speed cameras and failing that, firemen and paramedics and blood donors.

Forget the M20 and your car's top speed of 140 and the temptation to text back before pulling over.

Just staying in and saving ourselves.

Saving all of our lives.

Because that's what it says everywhere these days isn't it ?

Save save save ?

Actually, no.

Save is a con. It means spend and besides I saw another message today.

On the back of GQ.

For skin cream and shampoo. Or jeans.

It's hard to tell.

It said "life is for living".

And live it we will.

Until the end of days.

(copyright)