When I saw this week’s writing challenge, I come to think about an episode of the 80’s comedy show ‘Alf” I don’t remember which episode it was though. The mother of Kate (that’s Mrs Tanner) came to visit. Alf was watching TV when Dorothy (Kate’s mother) came to the living room and changed the channel. She wanted to watch a soap. A conflict aroused between them where Alf said, he could write a better script to the series. She wanted him to prove it so he started writing it. He listened to every conversation she and Kate had and wrote it down. He then sent it to the TV station when it was finished. They used the script for an episode. The family watched it and they noticed the dialogue sounding familiar. Alf thought the conflict between Kate and Dorothy would get solved but it was the other way around. It gets Alf in trouble. He tries to make it up somehow so he writes another script. After a writer’s block, he gets it done. But the TV station changes the script so the conflict continues at home. He convinces them to read the real script. In the end it all ends well.

Listening to other people’s conversations and writing them down, can get people upset if they see it somewhere on the internet. Eavesdropping can also make people imagine things. A conversation can be about daily things but if a person hear a certain word when they’re walking by, it can lead to something else. For example some might hear the word ‘bomb’ and start to assume it’s about a terrorist attack plan. Misunderstanding can lead to more serious things. Innocent people can get into trouble. If you hear a conversation, you shouldn’t make your own conclusion. Sometimes listening to others can be amusing too.

Being an introvert, listening is second nature. You can pretend you don’t hear even if you do. You can still be social if you only listen to others. You can learn a lot about another person without having to take part in the conversation. In school I often listen to people talking. Standing in line for the coffee machine can be an event. I’ve heard where people go to lunch or what kind of DVD’s people have bought. Sitting on the bus and listening to conversations. One had work only at weekends in Helsinki. The other had band rehearsals. Public transportations are good for eavesdropping. It’s where people talk the longest if it’s a long trip. Then there are people on their phones. That can be a bit annoying. Who wants to listen to people’s relationship problems or health problems? If they don’t want people to hear, they wouldn’t talk those things in public. Maybe it’s some kind of turn-on for them. I would never talk about personal things around others. If I did, I would whisper so the only person that heard, was the person I’m talking too.

The funniest conversation on the phone I’ve heard was on the bus from Helsinki in September this year. The lady sat across me on the other side of the aisle. First she started with Finnish and when she got to more personal things, she said to the other person “I’m gonna talk in Swedish so no one would hear” Which amused me since I speak Swedish too (Finnish-Swedish is my mother tongue) She started to talk about her co-worker that was a pain in the neck. She kept bitching about the person that made the work environment unbearable. The person had done this and that. Or said this and that. This conversation went on and on. She talked quite a long time. To me it seemed, it was this lady that was the problem. I hope I won’t meet one of those. Backstabbing is the worst feeling in the world. What made it funny was that, she thought no one would understand what she was talking about. If she only knew 😀

It can sometimes be hilarious. I’ve never tried this one. I don’t know if it would work in real life.