I am an epic eavesdropper. This might make me a creeper, but I don’t care. By eavesdropping, I don’t mean the classic malicious style where one covertly listens to their friends or coworkers to obtain juicy info to exploit or gossip about. I am probably pretty good at this too, but I really have no use for it.
The kind of eavesdropping that I really love is listening to strangers. There is something comforting about listening to people that know each other well conversing. It is intimate. I can enjoy that intimacy and participate in it passively.
One of my favorite types of conversations to eavesdrop on is a couple who is obviously in love. The only caveat is that it has to be before or after the obnoxious phase of love. Hopefully you know what I mean by the obnoxious phase of love. It is the stage where the two are being obnoxious, and they know it, but that somehow adds to the enjoyment. There is something pleasant about vicariously experiencing their familiarity with each other.
One of the most memorable conversations that I eavesdropped on was had by a group of older gentlemen in a Starbucks that was attached to a grocery store. I frequented this spot because they had free wireless internet. The only thing that I remember about the conversation besides a fantastic feeling of camaraderie, was that at least one of the gentlemen recommended the movie Eagle Eye. Leave me a comment if you have seen this movie. I need a second opinion.
The only problem with this system arises when I really want to contribute to the eavesdropped conversation. I don’t think that one can walk up to a group of people and say, “hey I have been listening to your conversation, and I just really wanted to mention that …….” Whenever I play this hypothetical situation out in my head, it never ends well. The only time that this would perhaps be acceptable is when I can tell that all of the participants in the hypothetical eavesdropped conversation are pretty drunk. This will probably never play out in real life though, because in general drunk conversations are much less interesting to eavesdrop on.