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I met you in the rain on the last day of 1972
- kimura 11y agoGood read. Thank you for sharing. I hope they reconnect.
- Asbostos 11y agoAnd her husband doesn't mind?
- JadeNB 11y agoI didn't know what to expect from the title, but it wasn't that. That was amazing and heartbreaking, and reads like an elegant work of fiction. (The cynical part of me wonders if it is, but I don't like the idea and so relegate it to parentheses.)
- Cidan 11y agoI think a lot of people miss the point of this posting -- it doesn't matter if it's real or if it's fake, but rather it's an evolution of artistic expression. Someone is using Craigslist as an entirely new medium for writing a bit of poetry or short story. The potential for this type of work to reach people is huge, and that to me is the most exciting part of it all.
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- phamilton 11y agoIt ties in with the classic "For sale: baby shoes, never worn" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale:_baby_shoes,_never_worn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale:_baby_shoes,_never_wo...
- learning_still 11y agoPresenting made up stories as authentic is by no means a new idea. To say it's an "evolution of artistic expression" is to give this piece and its author far too much credit. You're right, it does not matter if it is real or fake, but it absolutely matters if it is believable. You and I have read and believed many made up stories in our lifetime. Our instinct is to believe what we read. There could not have been a greater failure on the writer's part than to present us a piece that forces us to question its authenticity. The writer should give us no choice but to believe. Regardless of if the piece is true or not.
- reledi 11y agoYour comment is exactly what Cidan is criticising. The authenticity of the story is not interesting but instead how an old platform was used in a novel way.
- learning_still 11y agoDo you actually believe that this is the first time that someone has posted a made up story to Missed Connections? I'm sure people have been posting made up stories since day 1. Made up stories on the internet are not novel. I'm sorry. Publishing fake stories has been around since publication. I guess you didn't actually read what I wrote. While the authenticity is not important, the believability of any piece of writing is paramount. Especially when that piece is trying to be passed as authentic. You would think that would go without saying.
- Camillo 11y agoA few months ago, Reddit's /r/tifu was crawling with creative writing students, shoveling their slop all over it under the guise of "true stories". (Nowadays it's all ridiculous sex stories, which somehow ends up being an improvement.)
- bambax 11y agoYes, real or fake, it's a great story, superbly told; I'd like to think it's real because it's more beautiful and more touching that way. One sentence I find very profound is this: the prospect of suicide was suddenly less appealing than the prospect of discovering what had happened in that restaurant. The other takeaway is this: do not go to the bathroom. Do not leave. Do not take your eyes off the object of your interest for one second, or she might leave and you'll never see her again.
- StavrosK 11y ago> other takeaway is this: do not go to the bathroom. Do not leave. Do not take your eyes off the object of your interest for one second, or she might leave and you'll never see her again. If the object of your interest wants to leave, I'm not sure imposing yourself on it is the best way to keep it around.
- Steuard 11y agoI've gotta say, whether taken literally or metaphorically this sounds a little creepy. On the literal level, clinging to someone constantly so they can't get away is likely to come across as somewhere between desperate and terrifying. And metaphorically, this level of focus can be fantastic in the short term, but taken too far it's a recipe for burnout and a hollow, fragile life.
- pvg 11y agoOf course it matters. If it's real, it's a strange, perhaps touching story. If it's made-up, it's a trite and rather artless attempt to yank at your heartstrings. Being coy about whether something is a true account, fictionalized or outright fiction is a cheap way to avoid criticism of both one's reportage and art. Jack Shafer wrote about this sort of thing regarding a David Sedaris flap a few years ago: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/2007/04/david_sedaris_and_his_defenders.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/20...
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- sosborn 11y ago> If it's made-up, it's a trite and rather artless attempt to yank at your heartstrings. Should we consider all fiction works in this way?
- pvg 11y agoIf it's a trite and artless attempt to yank at your heartstrings, sure. The difference is, fiction declares itself as fiction so you can judge it on its merits as such. This thing would not get a single repost nor an iota of internet attention if it announced itself as fiction. Comparisons to Murakami notwithstanding, it's terrible fiction.
- aagha 11y agoDoes it always "declare itself"? What about Wells' War Of The Worlds?
- DanBC 11y agoI enjoyed the Coen brothers tweaking of this convention with their fake "The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred" declaration.
- ASM_god 11y agoor for karma
- to3m 11y agoLong-form graffiti :)
- tokenrove 11y agoBut it isn't novel, either; using Craigslist for this is a well-known writing exercise. See for example http://www.thelmagazine.com/2010/10/ships-that-pass-craigslist-missed-connections-and-the-imagined-other/ http://www.thelmagazine.com/2010/10/ships-that-pass-craigsli...
- ww520 11y agoThat's very touching. Wonder if it would lead to anything at all.
- _nato_ 11y agoQuite Murakami-esque. Touching.
- sul4bh 11y agoPlease suggest me a Murakami book that resembles this story.
- sdlm 11y agoReminds me a lot of this short story by Murakami: "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning" (1981) http://www.youmightfindyourself.com/post/22131227213/on-seeing-the-100-perfect-girl-one-beautiful http://www.youmightfindyourself.com/post/22131227213/on-seei... It's part of his 'The Elephant Vanishes' short story collection.
- sul4bh 11y agoI read the story. Very similar to the OP. You mind sending few more links of your favourite Murakami stories?
- dates 11y agoMurakami's earlier books are less fantastical and more sentimental. I would recommend Norwegian Wood, it's very good.
- malkia 11y agoThank you!
- rkho 11y agoFascinating. Using Missed Connections as a platform to set a context. It could be fictitious, but it's more than achieved its goal for everyone but the intended recipient.
- waterlesscloud 11y agoYou're right about Missed Connections as context. This wouldn't have half the impact if it was in a literary journal. Just placing it in MC makes the reader more susceptible to experiencing it as real.
- I_NEED_ANSWER 11y agocan I ask : What is "Craigslist and these Missed Connections"
- wpietri 11y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missed_connection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missed_connection
- InclinedPlane 11y agoCraigslist is a site where people can post classified ads for free in their local geographical area (e.g. city/metro area), similar to the old classified section of a newspaper. It also has a personals section. Part of the personals section is a "missed connections" area where people can post about an experience they had with someone where it felt like they should have exchanged contact information and kept in touch but missed the opportunity. If the other party of the missed connection happens to feel strongly and has the same idea to go to the missed connections area for the local craigslist site and if they happen to see the post from the other person they would recognize the description of their encounter and have the chance to get in touch.
- matryoshka4811 11y agoHow stunningly beautiful. It doesn't matter to me if it's real or not. The writer created a world and two people and I got to live that as the reader for a little while. If the writer sees this, thank you.
- mrb 11y agoIn case this posting expires, here are copies: https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/3n86wi/i_met_you_in_the_rain_on_the_last_day_of_1972_m4w/cvlpfd5 https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/3n86wi/i_met_you_in... https://boingboing.net/2015/10/02/the-greatest-craigslist-miss.html https://boingboing.net/2015/10/02/the-greatest-craigslist-mi...
- rilut 11y agoBeautiful. I also like this NYC Craigslist story http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/nyc/4301059953.html http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/nyc/4301059953.html
- Animats 11y agoIs there a search engine for that? You should be able to search all Government surveillance cams for your own history.
- malusmage 11y agoThanks for sharing! I didn't expect this to be a real post given the title, but it was a great read.
- Asbostos 11y agoCould be summarized as "I murdered some people and felt guilty, then I flirted with a beautiful woman which saved me from suicide, then I forgave myself for my crimes, now I'm lonely so I want to meet that woman again." I don't have any sympathy for this man who's had just about the best possible life he could have, given what he did. I'll bet there are plenty of prisoners serving life for murder who would also like to meet some old flame but don't have the freedom to post on Craigslist.
- toBuildSails 11y agoYes, "boo" to using words that play with peoples emotions, and "yay" to not ever doing that sort of thing. ...except your summarized version also triggers an emotional response, does it not? Perhaps less deceptive. (or is it?)
- InclinedPlane 11y agoPeople often denigrate new media because they have a habit of comparing the average of the new with the cream of the traditional. "Look what I ate for lunch today" on instagram vs "Hamlet by Wm Shakespeare". Here we have an excellent example of something that needs to be slid into the folder marked "In defense of the internet".
- learning_still 11y agoI don't believe this post, and I think the author should have done a better job of making it realistic since that was clearly the goal of using craigslist. There are countless authentic (and believable though false) anecdotes available today because of the internet. I would have liked to see the author do more research, to have read some of the aforementioned writings, ditch the traditional rulebook, and create something I could believe. They clearly have a knack for writing, but their adherence to so many traditional rules destroys what they were trying to accomplish. Every day people with much less talent make up stories that are readily believed. (Reposted links with claims of being the original poster are the easiest to find examples of this.) It's a shame. This was a marvelous idea. And I hope the next time I read this author's work, I'll have no choice but to believe.
- runamok 11y agoThis reminds me of an anecdote where someone who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge wrote that if a single person smiled at them while they walked to the bridge they would not jump off. That sadly didn't happen... I think caring for one another in even minor ways can have a huge impact. http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_25438684/just-smile-might-save-life http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_25438684/just-s...
- DanBC 11y agoThere are a few examples of people who were about to die by suicide when someone asks how they are and if they need a bit of help. it doesn't take much to stop most death by suicide.
- Perceval 11y ago“There are many causes for a suicide, and generally the most obvious ones were not the most powerful. Rarely is suicide committed through reflection. What sets off the crisis is almost always unverifiable. Newspapers often speak of 'personal sorrows' or of 'incurable illness.' These explanations are plausible. But one would have to know whether a friend of the desperate man had not that very day addressed him indifferently. He is the guilty one." —Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus
- Camillo 11y agoI'm not sure what people find "beautiful" or "touching" in this story. A man is wracked by guilt over what he has done to the point of deciding to end his life, but then he forgets all about it as soon as a pretty girl gives him attention. Inasmuch as it is believable, this is a story about how all our lofty notions of justice, honor, purpose etc. are just bullshit, and it's really all about fucking, consuming and keeping those genes alive. Matter over mind, humanity revealed as a mere dusting on thought over the throbbing mass of limbic functions. It is depressing. Its only redeeming quality is the fact that it's obviously fake.
- nappy-doo 11y agoI bet you're fun at parties.
- datalist 11y agoI am sorry, but thats all you have to say? Camillo is absolutely right on that subject. This person killed hundreds (if not more) of beings, realised his guilt, subsequently wanted to choose the "noble" path of taking the consequences (even though, realistically, it wouldnt have changed a single thing for those he bombed) and suddenly forgot everything the moment he met a pretty girl. Fake or not, if you are saying people are only fun if they admire such a bunch of a wannabe-romantic story and go "aaaaaawwwww", then I am really sorry.
- tluyben2 11y agoWhat age are you and Camillo? I had your sentiments as well in my early twenties but 20 years later I find those thoughts unhelpful for both me and others around me and taught myself first not to express them and then not to think them. So I am wondering if it might be an age thing or that experiences, social interaction and managing many people in companies changed me.
- sridca 11y agoNot thinking about or expressing doesn't necessarily falsity it, much less serve as a reason to castigate someone at HN for pointing it out, albeit in a sentimental way. Is it really that hard, even in this supposedly liberalized day and age, to have a conversation about these outdated romantic notions?
- mlamat 11y agoIs that you, John Mccain?
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- mjs 11y agoI once read a story (I think in the Washington Post) about two people meeting up in similar circumstances sometime in the 60s or 70s, and then, when parting, promising to meet again at a specific location and time far into future. And so after decades, one party went to the arranged meeting point with great anticipation having told their family about the story, etc. But the other party didn't turn up. Eventually the reporter tracked them down, and they couldn't remember anything about the original meeting. Unfortunately, I've never been able to find this story again, despite spending quite some time looking! But, going by this story, I think it's quite possible that often when something like this happens it's far more significant to one person than the other, partly because some people have more drama in their lives than others.
- jdeibele 11y agoEvery time my alumni magazine comes it has a page devoted to identifying passages that people remember but can't find. http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/lost/novels.html http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/lost/novels.html has tips on how to find books. Maybe some of the same places would have suggestions on how to find the article?
- cousin_it 11y agoSad story. I guess the girl was interested in the guy at first, but then lost interest when he started talking about his emotional problems.
- Uptrenda 11y agoOh god, it's raining inside ;-------; That was such an elegant short story.
- DonHopkins 11y agoI met you on the London Underground Tube in 2006, and I was such a such horse's ass for not holding the doors open... http://data-freeyork.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/WillSanders28.jpg http://data-freeyork.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/...
- Gobiel 11y agoIt lost all credibility at "thusly".. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thusly https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thusly
- blacksqr 11y agoHow hard could it be to check Boston society page engagement and wedding announcements for 1972 and 1973?
- rileytg 11y agoit wouldn't be that hard. if this was real, we'd have a good national treasure meets the notebook film to make.
- drdeadringer 11y agoTo be fair, the person did mention being old and unfamiliar with Facebook. The thought to check "the high-society pages" might be a similar "didn't think of that" despite the "Boston nobility" drop.
- njharman 11y agoNice story. But, I'm gonna be a pooper and state people who want to kill themselves just do it. People who take multi hour walks are looking for hope, anything to use as an excuse not to kill themselves. Good this guy found his.
- j2kun 11y agoFWIW, I have seen some fiction I've enjoyed in the format of "craigslist ad." Here's one that has stuck with me as a good example: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/08/the-loveliest-short-story-you-will-read-today-was-published-on-craigslist/278533/ http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/08/the...
- Mz 11y agoAh, the glory of unrequited love, always so much better than the real thing where we have to deal with their literal and metaphorical dirty laundry. In the absence of actual reality, we get to imagine them a perfect being. We get to fill in the blanks with such fierce emotion and lofty assumptions about someone we never really knew. The beginning of the piece has such wonderful and evocative detail, it is either a genuine memory or well researched fiction or some mix of the two. Unlike other cynics here, I don't think it can be easily dismissed as merely "Wow, our gonads sure drive us." But then I believe we are spirits in the material world and I have been sustained through many hard things because of strange and kind encounters myself. Edit: Also, my father and ex were both soldiers and I have known many military personnel. So, there's that.
- upwords 11y agoI read your story in the rain on the last day of my failed vacation. I do not know if you are reclining in your Lazyboy bemused and self congratulatory or in an more dramatic parallel irony- you haven't a clue what Ycombinator is and don't know that you are an old man who did achieve his 15 minutes. Either way-delightfully crafted.
- hitautodestruct 11y agoIt's been removed. Anyone have a copy/screenshot of this?