John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Eavesdropping

The downside of eavesdropping.

Was just having dinner with my wife and daughter at a local restaurant. My daughter and I were talking and I noticed she was trying to listen to a loud conversation at the table next to us.

I paused and asked, “Do you like to eavesdrop?” She nodded yes. “Me too” I said.

We talked about the nuances of eavesdropping, how to do it effectively without being noticed, and how to spot tables that are interesting and eavesdrop-worthy.

We continued to dissect the art of eavesdropping before I noted, “You know, the good part about eavesdropping is that you learn other people —who often intimidate us bc they speak so confidently and loudly–aren’t that interesting after all.

At that moment, we each looked at the other with mild panic and realized the downside of eavesdropping.

No one…No table…not even the waiters or busboy were trying to listen to our conversation.

I said, “Oh my goodness. Do you think we are the least interesting people here?!!” My daughter, laughing, said, “Afraid so.”

After that we stopped eavesdropping and tried to talk louder and something someone else may want to eavesdrop on.