October 21, 2018. The Mississippi River. Listening In.

I love listening to peoples conversations, especially when they do not know I am listening. It is even better when you can not see them. This boat has been a wonderful spot to listen. We have not met the folks in our adjacent cabin but I know lots about them. I can hear them through the walls. The first conversation I heard was when I was reading on the balcony. They did not know I was outside and they were chatting. The husband also talks on the phone and I hear every conversation. Just now they had a conversation with their grandson Jeramy, who is in graduate school. I know all about his new car and about the classes he likes. Our neighbors are nice people, Jeffry and Lara and are from Indiana. When I overheard the first conversation, Lara commented that soon we would be on the other side of the boat because soon we would be traveling south rather than north. He laughed and suggested that they would not be going to the other side of the boat but rather would be looking at the other back. She laughed and agreed with him. And they both laughed. Some conversations were inane. On the phone, someone asked what he had for dinner and he described each course in excruciating detail. I felt like knocking on the wall and tell that that enough was enough. We dine in a rather large lounge so people come and sit and chat, paying no attested to us, who sit off to the side. Staff members come in for coffee or water and chatter away with each other, while ignoring us. But we are not ignoring them. One hot topic was the breath test taken one night. Whew. Staff members were sent home while others were restricted to the boat. One guest discussed the cruise with one of the speakers. The lady had a long list of complaints about the cruise. While Ken and I were disappointed that we missed the top of the river, this lady seems to hold the cruise line accountable for the flooding. She listed complaints that Ken and I did not knew existed. What a waste of her time. Rather than enjoying herself she carried on for thirty minutes with what was wrong with her cruise. The poor visiting speaker was left to either defend of agree. As soon as possible, the speaker got away. Fascinating conversation. Who knew? But I heard it all because I was listening in.