Snatches of Conversation

Snatches of conversation can be found everywhere, floating out of bar room doors, drifting on the breeze where people sit in outside areas, talking sharing. Of course these snatches are shifty characters, incomplete and slippery, open to all kinds of interpretations. If you try to listen too deeply the snatches simply clam up and become silent.

Recently I have overheard two incomplete conversations. One was whilst waiting outside a public toilet. Two women aged approximately seventy years were holding a discussion, oblivious to the women surrounding them in the queue.
One bent forward, the lines between her eyebrows deepening. I thought this to be significant. Then she spoke. 'I have made up my mind, I'm going to the house tonight'.
'Oh! said the other, 'How do you feel about that?'
'I'm very worried and uneasy. 'I'm going in and will need backup' Was the response.
From these snatches I wondered, where the old ladies two police officers? Was espionage involved? After all, don't they always say 'I'm going in, cover my back' on television. Or was she
a burglar, going home to get dressed in black with a mask and then covered in grease off to her next 'mark?' Was it all innocent? Perhaps it was a friend's birthday and she wanted to surprise her. Somehow this didn't sound very festive.
Then it was my turn to use the vacant toilet so I did not hear the end of the conversation.

The second snatch of conversation I heard was while searching through a second hand book store. The woman next to me had a mobile phone which began ringing insistently. I'm sure the tune came from Star Wars. Her conversation with the caller went something like this.
'I'm in a book store at the moment so I can't say much. I phoned you about my daughter. She seriously needs help and I think she should come and see you'. There was a pause, then,
'Well she is seeing a man and I think he is a drug addict and may even be a dealer', said loudly and in a firm tone. Again silence, 'Then, well I', very busy and can't really make an appointment until the end of the month. Do you have a time then?
At that moment I had to pay my book and no reason to stay in the store. Still, I couldn't help be curious, who had the woman phoned? Was it the police? A counsellor? Did her daughter know she was making contact to talk about her? Even if her daughter was unaware there where 16 customers in a second hand book shop that now knew.

Eavesdropping is the best way to find out what these 'snatches of conversation are up to. But be prepared for disappointment, as I have discovered meeting with snatches is rarely a fulfilling experience.

Ridin the newest train route in the southern hemisphere

The Mandurah to Perth Railway line opened a few days before Christmas 2007 so Im pretty sure its the newest so far. There was great excitement everywhere, the long awaited train had finally arrived. It was a bit like the Berlin Wall, there was lots of discussion, then one day'poof'' it was gone. The new railway line has been discussed over and over, there were so many delays we wondered would it ever happen at all. Then just as we had begun to believe it was all a myth, suddenly 'poof' the line was opened.
Early one morning Jamie and I drove to the Mandurah station and caught the train, There were a few little hiccups, for example we were unable to pay for car parking as the machine was broken. Neither could we purchase a railway ticket, the ticket machine was down.

At last the moment arrived when we stepped aboard the train. I was amazed to notice that our new trains had already been targeted with graffiti. Still, it was an exciting time, sitting on the train and admiring the view. There was only one serious mishap when an elderly couple had to alight at their designated station. The doors opened and the wife alighted, however they shut instantly and the husband was left on the train. He was distraught but I hope buoyed by the assitance he received from the other passengers. One person offered their mobile phone, except he was unable to use it. A passenger produced a map to show him how far it was to the next station where he could alight and go back and join his wife.

When the time came for him to get off the train, half the passengers in his carriage jumped up ready to assist him and make sure he left the train. Finally the drama was over and hopefully the man was able to find his wife again.