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WHAT THEY'RE SAYING Actual conversations heard in & around San Franciso
Caffe Trieste, North Beach, 9/20/05, verbatim
[Two men sitting by the door as I was on line to get my coffee.]
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| Man 1: Did you know Ginsberg? |
| Man 2: Yeah. |
| Man 1: Did you like him? |
| Man 2: No. |
| Man 1: I didn't like him at all! He didn't like me, either. |
Fly Bar, Alamo Square, 9/11/05, reported as best as I can recall
[My eccentric neighbor Ellie walked into a bar where my friend Brendan and I were sitting at a table near the door and I called out to her.]
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| Me: [to Brendan and Ellie] Do you guys know each other? You both live in the neighborhood. |
| Brendan: No. |
| Ellie: I don't think so... You might have seen me around the neighborhood. I always walk around with a little dog. [pause.] ...I used to walk around with a little dog. He died three days ago. |
| Me: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. |
| Ellie: Yeah, he was sick for a while. A few days ago I could tell, it was the day, so I put him out in the backyard and he curled up in the grass. I went out for a while and when I got back... |
| Me: I'm really sorry. |
| Ellie: I put him in a bag, in my freezer. [pause.] Well, I have his body in the freezer. I cut off his head. |
| Me: [stunned silence] |
| Brendan: WHAT? |
| Ellie: I cut off his head. [pause.] I'm gonna put the skull on my bicycle. |
Front stoop of my apartment, day after Thanksgiving, 11/25/05
[As I was arriving home, my eccentric neighbor Ellie was just leaving her building.]
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| Ellie: [waves at me] |
| Me: Oh, hey, how ya doing? |
| Ellie: Good. How 'bout you? |
| Me: Good! |
| Ellie & me: [awkward pause while I hunt for something else to say.] |
| Ellie: Thank you! |
| Me: [pause] uh... you're welcome! |
| Ellie: Thanksgiving, and all. |
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