Things People Say

If you haven’t had a chance yet, definitely take a peek at Overheard in New York.

I can’t compete with ANY of these. People do say interesting or inane things in Davis but I don’t ride the bus, and if I’m in a place with a lot of people they tend to be students, so you don’t get the same range of ages, ethnicities, social classes, and outright weirdness that only happens in New York (hobo to Hispanic construction workers, f’rinstance: “Remember the Alamo”).

But I did once spend a day at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the big white towering thing over the 405, and in the cable car ride up people were already saying things worth writing down, so I started. Here are a few of them:

“Oh! It’s Jerusalem.”

“You know, everyone who comes up here says this place looks like Jerusalem.”

“Isn’t this one of the more beautiful spots, Adele? Man-made, I mean?”

“It’s just nice to sit out here in the sun.”

“Belle! Where’d you get that clock bag?”

“Really, aesthetically, I think it works. Even though from a distance it’s horrible.”

“Let’s go. There’s way too much scary furniture in here!”

I’ll be getting on a plane tomorrow to go to the desert to see my friend DocRoc and the most amazing wildflower show in 50 years, so I’ll have a chance to do some listening in to conversations that are quite different from those in New York OR at the Getty. Stand by.