Indiscreet Conversation

Have you ever been near someone who was talking loudly about something that you had no business overhearing?  There is a real increase in these types of incidents with the prevalence of cell phones.  People walk along in very public settings having what ought to be very private conversations.  Most of the time when you overhear these conversations, you don't know who is being talked about.  But...what if you did?


Although my two stories do not involve cell phones, they are cautionary.


A few years ago, I was sitting in the waiting area of a doctor's office where my father had an appointment.  The doctor's private office was close enough to the waiting room that he should have known enough to close his office door when having a private conversation.  I could clearly hear him on the phone discussing what had occurred at his church board meeting the previous evening, and how he felt about it.  It did not involve my church, but I could tell from the conversation exactly which church it did involve, and I was acquainted with people from that church.  I kept what I had heard to myself....I had no business knowing it...but I could have created upheaval by sharing what I overheard.


Many years ago, my aunt was separated from her husband.  She was harboring hopes of reconciliation and had no reason to think that was an impossibility.  One day she was riding the bus back from work in downtown Buffalo.  Two women in the seat next to her were gossiping about their boss, and the fact that he and his secretary had recently started living together.  They had no idea that the woman sitting in the next seat was the estranged wife of the boss.  She went home devastated, her hopes dashed.  Perhaps, it was a good thing that she found out the truth, but what a painful way to learn it.


It is not uncommon for one of my daughters to be talking to me on a cell phone while in a store or other public setting.  I have lost track of the number of times I have told her, "This conversation should not be occurring where other people can hear you."


Unless you know every person in ear-shot and want what you are discussing shared with them, you need to assume that someone may be present who shouldn't overhear your conversation.