Listening In By Accident
It’s not that I planned to listen in…I just happened to be sitting somewhere, intensely working on the first round of edits for my next book.
I had chosen a place where I would be both comfortable and possibly, just possibly be privy to a bit of idle conversation bits. Working in silence can sometimes stunt my creativity. Okay, you decide. Read the following conversation and tell me that it would not have made you laugh to the point of tears upon hearing it. (Just for the record, I did not laugh aloud, but the laughter I held in, drove me to tears)
Man: We need rocks. We need boulders really in the hallways. They represent the intense landscape of the music. I need these to complete my vision.
Woman hanging on his every word: I’m obsessed with it. Obsessed with it. Let’s make it happen.
Another Woman in the Triad: I’m questioning the ergonomic viability for the musicians who will be playing their instruments on the, the, stones. I’m going to submit a veto here.
Man: This just has to happen, and up there (as he pointed to a second floor way the hell up from where we were). They need to be the grounding impediment to the onlookers, drawn in by the sheer weight and massive obstruction before them.”
Woman: “Yes, yes, the obstruction. Truly, obsessed with this vision.”
Second Woman: “How will we get said rocks up there? It’s a logistical nightmare. How about if we simply project rocks, the image of rocks?”
Man: “No. Hard no. A projection is so flat. We need dimension, weight, in order to support the musical piece the patrons will experience.”
Then, they wandered out from under the acoustical area of the building and I couldn’t hear how things ended. A weekend went by and I returned to continue my edits, filled with new thoughts, twists and turns for my characters to endure, when the former triad, now a group of about ten, walked up. I mean, I had to listen! It was like they needed me to hear where they were in his “vision!”
Man: “I can’t pretend that the projection doesn’t disappoint me. Truly, a devastating understatement.”
Woman: “Yes, yes, I share your grief. It would have been magnificent. But since we are settled on the projection for practical purposes, what if we moved this all to the main floor…perhaps adding an eagle’s nest to, to further the environmental surround.”
New Woman: “Hmmm…does the music reference an eagle? I’m just wondering if there might be some confusion by the patrons…”
Woman: “The vision supersedes the actual musical piece by enhancing the listeners expectations.” (Me to myself, “What the hell does that even mean?”)
The group of ten moved along and I have no idea how this all ended. Oh, how thankful I was for these snippets of conversation. They were so ludicrous and grandiose. My writing improved 500% because of it. No, the story I was/am working on does not include that conversation. It’s that I had the opportunity to listen to others plead their case. Listening is so rewarding.
Have you heard any bits of conversation that just made you giggle inside recently? Share, share, please!!!! Thank you for reading my piece today.
What a fascinating conversation! I'd be tempted to wrangle my way into that building and see the creation for myself. But actually, just hearing it leaves a lot more to the imagination.
I was trying to imagine a physical image of what each one of these people looked like as I read their words. (As my daughter always says to me, I am a very visual person.) It is hard not to laugh when you are seated next to people, who in their conversation, take themselves far too seriously. And I was imagining you, Mary, with tears of laughter as you suppressed outright laughing. That image made me smile! A close friend and I had the opposite happen to us when we were out to lunch, exchanging Christmas presents with one another. We were in a popular bistro in our community and the area we were seated in has tables that are very close to one another. Lori and I were seated by the window, eating our lunch, with our Christmas presents on the window sill to be exchanged and opened after our meal. A couple sat down next to us and I could hear them talking before Lori could, as she was the one out of the two of us, talking at the time. From their conversation, I could tell that this couple was in the middle of a divorce and they were there to discuss some very delicate, private matters. At one point the man leaned across the table at his soon-to-be ex-wife and in a very angry voice, said to her, "What did you do with the $250,000 that was in (I don't remember his words here) such and such account? I know you transferred it and I want to know where it is..." I discreetly looked over at him and thought to myself, "Seriously? The two of you came into a crowded restaurent to discuss such private matters? And during the holidays on top of it???" I began shfting my eyes towards the couple across our table to Lori, trying to get her attention to what I was hearing. She didn't catch on at first, so I gently nudged her ankle under our table, while shifting my eyes towards this couple seated about two feet from us. Their conversation went on and on and after they left (they didn't order an entire lunch) Lori and I sat together, asking one another, who in the world takes something like that our in public? And then it hit us. They probably did this so that a full blown scene wouldn't be made in public. But Lori and I learned far more about this couple and the reasons for their marriage than we cared to when we talked in with the intention of having a nice lunch and exchanging our Christmas presents with one another.