"That cliché comes in a wide variety of forms and even appears in sacred texts,” the salesman said, rushing to her side and officiously dusting off an imaginary speck on the “G” in change.
“I know, Ecclesiastes 1:9,” the customer replied, covering
her mouth in a fake yawn. “What else you got?”
“Not so fast,” the salesman insisted, “This is your cliché.
I’m sure of it. I feel it in my bones. This is the cliché for the current age.
Put it up in lights, read the history books for today’s headlines, this is it!”
“Well, it’s a bit better than ‘May you live in interesting
times.’” She hesitated.
“We don’t sell curses here. Only the finest in clichés.
Sayings that have stood the test of time. This one,” the salesman nudged the
plaque toward her, “is eternal.”
“So, it is.” The customer sighed. “I was hoping for
something more hopeful. Tis love that makes the world go ‘round, all you need
is love, that sort of thing.”
“No love in your future, I’m afraid. Only the same old
thing. I can wrap it up in bows and ribbons though. I’ll even throw in a
sparkler. Would you like that?”
“No. A brown paper bag is fine. This is not something I want
to call attention to…all things considered.”
“I understand completely. In this case, you may like our
consolation package – one brown paper bag and a bottle of rot gut.”
“That’s the ticket,” the customer said, her smile never
reaching her eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment