Musings on a Small Life

Overheard on the bus a bit earlier this morning, while heading to the transfer point.  I didn't pay attention to the young man and woman who got on after me, and as they were in the middle of their conversation when they boarded the bus, it took me a while to understand that he was talking about getting into rap music, telling his companion that you had to steer clear of the gangsters, that you need to be innovative (my word to sum up) and that all rappers from Toronto sound the same, you need to be different. He mentioned something about a guy who was posting on YouTube who had to move to Montreal and who has to change his (online?) name every day (is that even feasible?) because of said gangsters. Uh.... All I can say is that I'm glad my world is far removed from that; so far that I happily can't even imagine living that kind of life. BTW, I thought I was the only one who had their ears "tuned" to them (they were at the back of the bus, I was seated in the middl...

So I'm in the McDonald's café in WalMart last Sunday morning. There are three elderly men (one looks to be in his late 60s, two older, possibly late 70s or even 80s) off to my left. Another elderly man comes in and sits down at a table directly on my left (one table over), opens up the paper on the table. One of the men in the group of three greets him and says they left the paper for him, because they know he likes to read it (while having his coffee/whatever). They "know" each other, though the man immediately to my left is not in their clique. Out of the blue, one of the three says to this new arrival, "Bob's dead." Just like that, no preliminaries.  After the expected "Oh no," etc., it turns out that Bob was found dead in his bed by the apartment building superintendent, who had gone in to check on him because it was noticed that Bob's car hadn't moved in a few days. Then--and I'm not kidding or making this up--...

I overheard that snippet of conversation a few minutes ago, heading back to the office after a water bottle fill-up in the next building (great free water fountains over there, regular and sparkling water, better than the bottled stuff in our suite). The conversation appeared to be between a prof and student, possibly a grad student. Presumably she meant "bricks" aren't invisible...But what did she mean by "bricks?" I ought to have lingered! Surely their discussion was/is far more interesting that what I'm doing at the moment.  :-) Wishing everyone an interesting day! Nicki gives me the "What?!" look, as he so often does.   Nice 'tocks, Derry! Purrs from the boys and peace from me.

So said a woman who passed me by yesterday, walking in the other direction. I have no idea if she was talking on a cell phone (didn't notice one in her hand, but she could have been hands-free), if she was talking to one of the voices in her head, talking to me, or if it was a comment on the paramedic SUV and ambulance that were trying to find the right driveway to turn in. But I wondered how many of us echo that sentiment. "Toes are the worst" is another quote, overheard on the last bus last Friday afternoon, spoken by a young girl/woman who could have been anywhere from mid-teens to late 20s. She was in the seat ahead of me, talking about mangled toe nails growing back in. Eeewwww. Some things just should not be discussed in public, IMO, whether that be via cell phone or face-to-face. I really do my best to ignore most things being spoken around me, but sometimes you just can't tune them out. Toby came for supper last night, surprisingly. He normally doesn't. ...