He Said, She Said...

Do you ever have those awkward moments when somehow catches a snatch of your conversation, completely out of context, and decides-on the grounds of ten short, trivial words-that you are strange, or nice, or loony, or downright creppy?
It seems to be a trademark sign of being human: we can't help it, and our ears--regardless of how deaf we're becoming from blasting our Ipods too loud and standing by the speakers of too many concerts--just seem to perk up every time someone whispers or looks suspiciously like they are about to say something private. Half the time, whatever comment we snatch up is completely unimportant-- a one-sided telephone conversation, an order at a restaurant...-- but sometimes, it's just so downright hilarious, or awkward, or plain old out of context that it's nearly worth it to listen.
When I was little, a friend taught me about a fun game she'd discovered with her friends. To play, you listen to someone else's conversation and randomly pick out phrases they've said and repeat them, loudly, a moment later to your friend. For example:
Woman looking at clothes on a sale rack and speaking on the phone: "I can't believe they went there! I've wanted to go to Los Angeles with Laura for months. Did they see any celebrities?"
**a moment or so later**
You to a friend: "I can't believe you went to Los Angeles! And you said you saw celebrities??!!"
Most likely, the original woman you stole the lines from will shoot a frustrated glance in your direction. But, of course, you proceed to smile and talk with your friend about some perfectly mundane TV program, movie, song, or school assignment. Flawless. Unless, of course, you discover some scruples against eavesdropping.
Luckily (or unluckily, depending on whether or not you have found these scruples) I broke my eavesdropping habit. But it is true what they say: it's not nice to eavesdrop. But on accident--or not so accident, as we have all observed--it can be quite amusing to hear random bits of conversations.

A memorable example:
This weekend--  My parents and I were sitting in a cute French restaurant in Arizona. My dad launched into an account of an experience he'd had at a Navajo rug store when I spotted a man at the table next to us not-so-stealthily listening in on our conversation. He turned his head just as my dad said "so I saw these old ladies in the corner and started talking to them about their trade..." At the talking to old ladies part, the man's eyes widened and flicked back and forth and his mouth dropped open a tiny bit. He gave us another furtive glance, and tried, nonchalantly, to angle his head differently so he looked like he wasn't eavesdropping. Of course, this only made it more obvious! Then, our waiter returned with dessert. He had misheard us, and our little table was completely filled with three crepe souffles and three chocolate tortes. Delicious? Yes! Embarrassing? YES! For three of us, we found enough dessert for ten people. And we ate a lot of it. And the man saw it all!
And guess what??? I didn't care that he saw or heard. Not one bit.
The Message: Don't eavesdrop.
You don't tend to learn anything particularly useful (unless you're super good at it).
You look ridiculous.
But on the other hand, you make everyone else's day!