I listened in on a lot of great conversations before I started this site. The best ones are on this page.
Intervention
September 11, 2010 2:00 pm
Today I’m sitting by a funny couple, probably in their 60s. The place is full, so we’re sitting at the less-desirable tables close to the counter. This table doesn’t usually allow for much eavesdropping, as there’s a lot of traffic. But my couple today isn’t even trying to keep the conversation private.
They’re rather jovial, calling over a young man wearing an “Outer Banks” t-shirt and asking him where he’d visited. They make polite conversation for a second and he leaves. A few minutes later, another man with a jaunty hat arrives; they’d obviously been waiting for him. The trio greets each other, looks around for a more comfortable seating area for their visit, and when they realize they’re stuck with the two-top, I offer up the extra chair at my table. They settle in and begin the small-talk. I tune them out thinking this is just your average get-together between old friends.
After a while, I begain picking up on bits of their conversation again and realize the discussion had turned to a much more serious topic, and apparently the reason for the meeting. They were discussing an intervention. Their son is a former military man, and he came home a different person than when he left. He has several addictions and the parents don’t know what to do about it. He’s living with them and working as a bartender, but often disappears for days at a time. The man in the hat is counseling them, asking questions, consoling them. I actually try not to listen. This conversation is too personal, too private, too intense for my silly game of eavesdropping. But at the same time, I’m curious. I want to know the story and I’m fascinated with the people. The parents are obviously very upset and concerned for their son, but outwardly, they’re interestingly calm.
They talk for a long time and reach the conclusion that the man in the hat and his wife will come to their home for dinner next week. He’ll meet the son and hopefully get to know him personally. The parents seem releived and they finish up their frappuccinos and leave.
The sad part is, this is actually the second time I’d overheard this type of conversation at a coffee shop. My first ever intentionally overheard conversation was another intervention meeting at a different Starbucks location about three years ago.
Power of Prayer
September 1, 2010 8:20 pm
There’s a church group sharing a table across the aisle from me. They seem to be meeting, not for prayer but for some type of planning session. I haven’t been able to listen in on their conversation tonight because I’m listening to the upcoming Government Cheese anthology CD while I work on the online marketing for the disc. I’m familiar with Government Cheese’s music because one of my all-time favorite musicians, Tommy Womack was a member. The band was semi-famous in the late 80s/early 90s, and unfortunately, I missed their rise and fall. The particualr track, track 10 disc 2 is a spoken-word piece that I’m not familiar with and has the distinct sounds of a men’s room, specifically, the sound of peeing under Tommy’s rant. I look up as I realize what the sound is and see that the church group is holding hands and praying. I wonder if they’re praying for me? Probably so…
Blind Date
August 24, 2010 7:45 pm
My favorite Starbucks location was packed tonight so I ended up sitting outside. They have a nice patio space with outdoor chairs and sofas, tables, umbrellas, a very cozy seating area. I chose a small cushoioned seat with the sun to my back. With no electrical outlet, I left the laptop in the bag and pulled out a textbook to read. After about 20 minutes alone, a lady in her 60s came and sat down in a seat on the other side of the coffee table. A balding gentleman around the same age joined her a few minutes later. It turns out, they were on a blind date. They started out with the general small talk. He talked about his grandkids and the fixer-upper house he recently purchased. He talked about himself a lot, and manipulated the conversation for quite some time. I could tell she wasn’t all that excited about his gardening and the siding he chose to he put on his new house. When she was finally able to get a word in edge-wise, she talked about her 215 pound weight loss. She said it gave her a newfound freedom she’d never expected and she wanted to experience the life she’d missed as a fat girl. She said with no husband and no children, her life would be all hers. She began traveling but it made her dad nervous. He told her she wasn’t safe - that bad people prey on young girls like her traveling alone. So she decided to focus on racing (not as an observer, but as a participant) and the little red Corvette she purchased last year and is in the process of souping up to race. Her date’s eyes simply glittered at this topic.
I’m a Regular!
August 9, 2010 2:15 pm
@ Starbucks downtown. The kid at the register knew my “usual” – - can’t decide if that makes me pathetic or if it’s kinda cool….
But Mooooom!
August 5, 2010 3:20 pm
New Starbucks neighbor – young girl, 20-something with her laptop, she’s calling her dad and reading an email she’s drafting to her mother. Apparently, her mom is upset with her for not coming to the family reunion, and she’s giving her all the reasons why she can’t. I guess her dad agrees with her…
Friends or Acquaintances?
August 3, 2010 1:30 pm
is at Starbucks downtown – I think this is my new home now… Sitting across from a guy who could be Barack Obama’s brother. He’s sitting with two girls, but none of them are speaking to each other. It’s weird.
Undated reflections…
First Starbucks Facebook post, and the one that made me realize how interesting it can be to overhear other’s conversations… I listened to an African man and an American woman discuss the man’s artwork. She was apparently a gallery curator and they were talking about displaying his work. He talked about how humbling it was for him to come to the US, and he wanted to make a difference in the lives of the children back in his country. I was dying to see his work, and he had a portfolio on the floor next to his chair, but they never opened it up.
I spent one Saturday afternoon at Starbucks watching a group of census takers (enumerators) attend their weekly meeting with their supervisor. They spent a lot of time chatting with one another, filling out paperwork and meeting with their boss one-on-one. During the same afternoon I also watched a homeless guy steal the Starbucks newspapers. But he didn’t just steal a stack of papers, he’d sit and read the paper, and when he found an interesting article, he’d take that part of the paper out, fold it very specifically into a square, then shove it down his pants, talking to himself the entire time. When his folding and shoving was finished, he’d go back to reading, folding and shoving. After about 30 minutes he just got up and walked out, to return about 30 minutes later, in different clothes?
My first eavesdropping experience happened one weekend in 2007, at a Starbucks in a bit of a seedy neighborhood. I noticed a noticbly well-dressed couple, probably in their late 40s, meeting with a not-so-well-dressed biker-looking gentleman. He had a shaved head, tatoos and Harley boots. He was carrying a briefcase and a piece of carry-on style luggage. They were at a table spread with paperwork and brochures. I couldn’t imagine what was going on, so I sat close to them. I thought maybe he was a scary-looking travel agent or something. But once I began to hear their conversation, I learned that he had flown in from Colorado specifically to meet with this couple. He was a counselor in a rehab facility and they wanted to get their son in his facility. I felt bad for listening in and moved away.
