Visitors wander the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, pre-social distancing.

Victoria Pickering / Flickr

Welcome back to Overheard in D.C., DCist’s weekly column of funny, strange, and poignant things that our readers and staff overhear and send in. We’ve been doing it since 2006. Check out the archives here.

We can’t have Overheard in D.C. without your submissions! Email your Overheards to overheard(at)dcist[dot]com and don’t forget to include who was talking, to whom, and in what context. 

You might notice we have fewer overheards than normal. We’re taking that as a sign that folks are staying home and socially distant—good job! But as a result, we are now taking submissions for eavesdropping on video conferencing calls and all of the other newfangled ways we’re staying in touch.

Overheard of the Week

A woman talking to her boyfriend while they are both working from home:

Me: “You sang like [Parks and Recreation character] Jean-Ralphio on a call today.”
Him: “I did? When?”
Me, as Jean-Ralphio: “Marketing is a dis-aaaaAaaa-ster!”
Him: [Laughs] “Whoops. But they are, I don’t know why we put up with them.”

—

When you’d gladly fall off your bike just to feel something

A male in his late teens, sprawled out on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, to his other two male friends still on their bicycles:
“I’m not gonna lie—that kind of felt nice. It’s been a while since I fell off a bike.”

—

So nice to catch up

A man talking on his cell phone during a walk on Wednesday evening:

“I just bought her a house and car two years ago … I don’t know what else to say.”

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This week, we’re spotlighting some of our favorite past submissions as a reminder of what pre-coronavirus life was like in D.C.

June 14, 2019: I like this theory

Sitting outside a restaurant in Tenleytown:

Two men are having an informal discussion regarding a job promotion and years of experience.

Man: “Well, yeah I guess in the history of the Earth I’m young.”

—

July 20, 2018: Next stop, disappointment

On a Northeast Regional train at Union Station:

Man (loud enough to be heard by the entire car): “Wait until we pass the Washington Monument on this train! Which side is the best side to be on to get pictures?”
Local: “This train doesn’t go by the Washington Monument.”
Man, after a pause: “Okay, the Lincoln Memorial then.”

—

September 29, 2017: Only in D.C.?

A man and woman see a vanity license plate that says IMFLYN:

Twentysomething woman: “You think that’s Michael Flynn in there?”
Twentysomething man (after a pause): “I think that’s supposed to be ‘I’m flyin.'”
Woman: “Oh, you’re probably right.”
Man: “You’ve been in D.C. too long.”

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