Wednesday, March 12, 2008

THURSDAY THIRTEEN #58 -- What I Heard while Snooping


THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS
I RECENTLY OVERHEARD


In January, I posted how the couple at the next table were blatantly, unashamedly eavesdropping on a friend and me as we chatted and dined. I didn’t think we were particularly interesting, nor worthy of the full attention of two strangers. But then, I thought, maybe we were. I wondered about the quality of the conversation swirling around me, tried to remember to remove my iPod, and listened in.

Here are 13 recently overheard conversations. Are they interesting? Let's just say I'm not leaving the house without my iPod ever again.

1) “Mom, I can’t believe you gave him the $500!” A man on his cell outside a restaurant. Apparently his son conned his mother (the boy’s grandmother) into “lending” him $500 for spring break.

2) “He demands a three-year commitment from all his new hires.”
“I don’t think that’s legal.”
"Yeah but he's from Europe. I wonder if he knows that."
Two women in the healthclub locker room, changing back into street clothes and discussing the first woman’s job search

3) “We have to find hot sauce.”
“I don’t think they have it here.”
“He puts hot sauce on everything!”
A pair of coworkers in line in front of me at Au Bon Pain, bringing lunch to a third who likes it spicy.

4) “You’re sure getting out of here early.”
“I’m going to get a shoe shine. He takes his time. Good way to start the weekend.”
“My wife has my weekend planned. You know, the ‘Honey Do’ list.”
Now to look at this dialog, you’d think these men were on the verge of retirement but no, they were in their 30s. I rode the elevator to the lobby with them one recent Friday.

5) “Don’t kiss me! Your cigar smells like fart!”
Woman to man picking her up at the train station. He laughed and hugged her shoulder. They seemed happy to see one another even though his cigar did indeed smell like fart.

6) “I was glad when the storm knocked that tree house down. It never looked safe to me.”
Woman seated behind me on the train. Here’s one time I was tempted to turn around and join the conversation. If the tree house never looked safe to you, how could you let your kids play in it?

7) “He seems chipper but, I dunno, under the surface there’s something. I think it’s because he doesn’t have any goals or objectives to work toward. That would make me sad, too.”
“I wish he would just face it and cry about it or something. Stop trying to be so strong or resilient or whatever. Maybe if he just faced it and dealt with it, he could make it better.”
Two women on the train, discussing their underemployed friend. Apparently he was let go in and has been unable to find a new position in his chosen profession.

8) “I told her I don’t know what she wants me to do about it! I mean, like, come on! It’s not like there’s a course at the high school called ‘vocabulary!’ Shit!”
“I don’t know why you care. She’s not your mother or even a teacher.”
Two high school girls, both wearing Obama buttons, walking up the street as they complained about some adult in their lives. I was intrigued because the first girl talked so fast and the second one spoke soooooo slooooow.

9) “Did he actually touch you?”
“No. But he came close. It was scary. It was right there in front of Macy’s!”
Couple I stood beside while waiting at a streetlight. The topic was not as it seemed. She was explaining why she doesn’t drive downtown anymore, so I assume it was her bumper that was almost touched.

10) “When was Ronald Reagan canonized, anyway? I never thought very much of him.”
“Yeah. And didn’t he have Alzheimer’s during his second term?”
Theatergoers seated beside us. This conversation completely freaked me out because a friend and I had a similar conversation earlier that very day! What are the odds?

11) “She said when she needed help to go to the bathroom, that was it. That’s when she wanted to die. Then she died in her sleep.”
“Good for her. She went in her own way.”
Two older ladies – one in a wheelchair – at the museum, discussing a mutual friend.

12) “Oh, you’re kidding! That is so arrogant.”
“I wish it had been a male hooker.”
“Men like that think they’re above the law and they aren’t.”
I assume these two women were talking about NY Gov. Elliott Spitzer, but I’m not 100% sure. I was eavesdropping on them while helping a coworker select a new suitcase at lunchtime.

13) “She’s in the hospital? NO! Things were going well for her!”
“She’s always having trouble with weight. I bet she’s been dieting too much.”
Two women in our breakroom, responding to a news story about Janet Jackson’s bout with the flu.

Leave your link in the comments and I'll add you here:
1) susiej has a delicious TT
2) Malcolm reminds us why we got up early on Saturdays
3) Chuck takes us shopping for her costume
4) Nicole Austin has a techno TT
5) Nicholas tries to help us speak English
6) Open Grove Claudia helps us shake off the doldrums
7) Adelle has an upbeat spring TT
8) Mama Kelly has a movie TT (and I LOVE movie TTs)
9) Susan introduces us to some great (albeit fictional) broads
10) Lori has an important relationship TT
11) Journeywoman has an admirable TT
12) Grandmother Wren is in a St. Paddy's Day mood
13) Linda's TT is brought to us by the letter C
14) Rims poses 13 questions
15) Bethany looks to the future
16) Dane Bramage is pondering this week
17) I wish Winter had come to my school and shared her TT on career day
18) Emmyrose has an inspirational TT
19) Marcia tempts us with a culinary TT
20) Amy the Black looks back on Mr. Rogers
21) Pop Tart revisits a very important year!
22) Lisa's TT is FFFFantastic!
23) Now go wish Kat a happy birthday!
24) Holly shares 13 nice things
25) Check out ufcfans' FIRST TT
26) Verabear shines a lovelight on her boyfriend in her TT
27) Faith puts her iPod on shuffle
28) Xakara invites us to share 13 awesome moments
29) It's All Good talks chocolate
30) Maggie's Mind has devoted her TT to her mom
31) Chris presents 13 unique weight loss tips
32) Lori shares what's on her bookshelf
33) Nissa sends cards with attitude


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43 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:07 PM

    They are all great!!! You could write a story from every one of them! Number 4 is very funny.

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  2. The one about the near fender bender is odd because of the man's choice of words. I don't think of an accident as cars "touching" each other.

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  3. What a riot! These are great. And, what a fun idea for TT. Happy happy. :)

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  4. I love listening in on such conversations. Terrible, aren't we? :-)

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  5. Anonymous5:56 PM

    LOL! These are great. I love listening to the odd conversations going on around me.

    Happy TT!

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  6. Anonymous6:10 PM

    Very funny list. Please do more TTs like this.

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  7. Someone shot Ronald Reagen out of a cannon? When did that happen? Was he alive when they did that? ;)

    This is deliciously fun. I do the same thing but never remember the conversations....

    Happy TT

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  8. Funny, I'm deaf, so people think they can get away with speaking softly so I won't hear them lol Maybe I should tell them I read lips? Nahh! Happy T13!

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  9. Anonymous7:57 PM

    I'm right there with you on #6 .. I would've been hard pressed not to put my own 2 cents in.

    Happy Th13

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  10. You hang out in more interesting areas than I do. I don't get much more than "Because I said so" these days.

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  11. People are funny, aren't they????Happy TT my friend.

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  12. Anonymous8:34 PM

    Great list. Have you ever been to the site Overheard in NYC? It's cute.

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  13. Anonymous8:43 PM

    Very interesting 13.
    Any one of those conversation tidbits could be the start of a great piece of writing.

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  14. Those were great!!! Happy TT.

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  15. You are as bad as my mother, over-hearing conservations. She does it when we go out to eat. Makes me nuts!

    SJR
    The Pink Flamingo
    http://thepinkflamingo.blogharbor.com/blog

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  16. Hey those were good...me and my cousin we do overhear other ppl conversation when we go to any of the eateries :D

    Happy TT!!

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  17. Oh my gosh, those are hilarious!! I can definitely relate...random people's conversations are awesome to listen to ;) Happy TT!

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  18. I'm glad you didn't hear one about where the bodies were hid and who's next. This week it's 13 Things to
    Ponder
    , My 71st Thursdat thirteen. Stop by if you get a chance.

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  19. I'm so used to tuning people out I've forgotten how fun it can be to eavesdrop!

    Happy TT!
    Life or Something Like (B)it

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  20. Very nice list, wish I could snoop like that :)

    Happy TT!

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  21. Anonymous11:39 PM

    those are certainly interesting. ive heard some weird ones in my time too. dont remember them, but i know i've heard them.

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  22. Anonymous11:40 PM

    Interesting. Those are great.

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  23. fun to listen to these snippets

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  24. I love listening to others, especially when they are talking on their cell phone, when you can only hear one side of the conversation. I like to mentally make up what the other person is saying.

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  25. Some days stuff like this is the only reason I agree to leave the house... It's cold here!

    Maybe we should tally the number of times that Reagan convo is over-heard... It's common one, it seems ;)

    TT's posted here and here.

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  26. I constantly hear snippets of conversation...some of those are hilarious.

    Happy TT!

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  27. Anonymous10:45 AM

    They are good stories! I could use the $500 for spring break...it's next week for me! :-)Happy TT

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  28. I loved this one! I never purposely listen in - but snippets of things often sound SO funny!

    #3 made me laugh for when I visited New Mexico once - people actually carried little bottles of hot sauce - they even sold little holsters for them...

    Smiles,

    Holly
    http://theabundanceplace.com

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  29. Anonymous11:20 AM

    What a great list!!! I love it. The "fender bender" comment reminded me of the commercial for insurance with the guys singing "oooh fender bender!" "Rental car smels like sunshine!" "Take a trip to happy town - woo woo!" lol... yea I need to get out more.
    Jennifer

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  30. It is sooo much fun to eavesdrop, hahaha! If you don't want what you're talking about to be heard by others, talk about it somewhere else, right? hehe

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  31. I like the cigar that smelled like fart! Too funny!!! I don't usually eavesdrop; I watch people and how they interact and then make up stories about them. Happy TT! Mine's at http://chauceriangirl.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/thursday-thirteen-14/

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  32. Anonymous12:38 PM

    I nearly always have my headphones with me so that I can quickly put them in when the conversations get too bizarre even for me. But I've heard som doozies.

    I always wonder however what my own conversations sound like to bystanders. My Sweetie and I can fall in to near code with all the inside info being left out of the conversation. We must be deeply confusing to the average person. I wonder if I'll ever find a snippet of my own convos while at the store on someone's blog. *Grin*

    And hey, just in case you have trouble opening the link again this week let me put it here in the comments section as well.

    Today's TT

    Happy Thursday

    ~X

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  33. Fun and interesting! I'm going to start paying more attention to conversations around me! Have a great day!

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  34. Anonymous1:52 PM

    Super creative idea and so much fun!

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  35. Anonymous2:05 PM

    I love eavesdropping when I'm out and about. Amazing what you will hear. Happy TT!

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  36. I love it and I love this idea. I really want to steal it for a TT someday. I always hear everything going on around me, jotting it down to share later could be fun.
    My husband and I were out to lunch one day and having an intense debate over an episode of Battlestar Galactica and I wondered if the people at the next table thought we were nuts. We are, so I don't really care, but I did wonder. :-)

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  37. Those are gooood! What a neat idea for a T13!

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  38. What a great and original TT list!

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  39. These are a great idea for a TT! Inspires me to do some snooping! :)

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  40. Oh!! This is kind of like people-watching! I've never thought about what all you could hear as opposed to see. Might be interesting sometime!
    http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2008/03/open-wide_13.html

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  41. Those are great! The things people talk about. I hate to admit this, but my husband and I love to listen in on people's conversations sometimes! It ALWAYS gives us something to talk about.

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