
I met you in the rain on the last day of 1972 - brandonmenc
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/mis/5237173491.html
======
Cidan
I 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.

~~~
pvg
Of 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/20...](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/2007/04/david_sedaris_and_his_defenders.html)

~~~
sosborn
> 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
If 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
Does it always "declare itself"? What about Wells' War Of The Worlds?

~~~
DanBC
I 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.

~~~
droidist2
But they caused the death of that Japanese woman that went looking for the
money.

------
Camillo
I'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.

~~~
exodust
It's creative writing, which some people like no matter how authentic.

The writer has some skills. The flow and efficiency would earn marks as a
school assignment!

 _" scaled the hill with its golden dome, and meandered into that charming
labyrinth divided by Hanover Street"_

It might seem simple, but in those few words a lot of information is
communicated.

 _" Ironically, the torture of your abandonment seemed to swallow my self-
loathing"_

Nicely put! Again, top marks.

As an aside, I've noticed over the years that programmers make good writers.
Wit, efficiency, confidence. Obviously excelling at technical subject matter,
but even so, sometimes it's entertaining. I wonder if the reverse is true?
That good writers and literature-heads make good programmers (if they tried).
As in, creative code, efficient code, structured etc.

~~~
bambax
> _would earn marks as a school assignment_

Oh, come on. I can't tell if you're being ironic or clumsy, but if it's the
later I strongly disagree. This is fantastic writing, much better than what we
read everywhere everyday; in school it would warrant to take the teacher's
place.

~~~
exodust
I'm saying it's good.

That said, it's only 1000 words. Don't get too excited.

By "school" I mean maybe college, a dedicated writing class. Who knows, who
cares, but don't underestimate the talent of young writers motivated by viral
glory!

But yeah... it's a good one-hit-wonder.

~~~
chris_wot
1,000 words? It packs a lot into its brevity and it suits its medium.

------
mjs
I 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
Every 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?

------
matryoshka4811
How 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.

------
JadeNB
I 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.)

------
runamok
This 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-s...](http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_25438684/just-
smile-might-save-life)

~~~
DanBC
There 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
“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_

------
learning_still
I 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.

------
blacksqr
How hard could it be to check Boston society page engagement and wedding
announcements for 1972 and 1973?

~~~
rileytg
it wouldn't be that hard. if this was real, we'd have a good national treasure
meets the notebook film to make.

~~~
drdeadringer
To 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.

------
rkho
Fascinating. 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.

~~~
I_NEED_ANSWER
can I ask : What is "Craigslist and these Missed Connections"

~~~
InclinedPlane
Craigslist 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.

------
Mz
Ah, 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.

------
_nato_
Quite Murakami-esque. Touching.

~~~
sul4bh
Please suggest me a Murakami book that resembles this story.

~~~
sdlm
Reminds 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-
seei...](http://www.youmightfindyourself.com/post/22131227213/on-seeing-
the-100-perfect-girl-one-beautiful)

It's part of his 'The Elephant Vanishes' short story collection.

~~~
sul4bh
I read the story. Very similar to the OP. You mind sending few more links of
your favourite Murakami stories?

------
rilut
Beautiful. 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)

------
mrb
In case this posting expires, here are copies:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/3n86wi/i_met_you_in...](https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/3n86wi/i_met_you_in_the_rain_on_the_last_day_of_1972_m4w/cvlpfd5)

[https://boingboing.net/2015/10/02/the-greatest-craigslist-
mi...](https://boingboing.net/2015/10/02/the-greatest-craigslist-miss.html)

------
j2kun
FWIW, 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...](http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/08/the-
loveliest-short-story-you-will-read-today-was-published-on-craigslist/278533/)

------
upwords
I 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.

------
DonHopkins
I 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/...](http://data-
freeyork.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/WillSanders28.jpg)

------
cousin_it
Sad story. I guess the girl was interested in the guy at first, but then lost
interest when he started talking about his emotional problems.

------
malusmage
Thanks for sharing! I didn't expect this to be a real post given the title,
but it was a great read.

------
hitautodestruct
It's been removed. Anyone have a copy/screenshot of this?

------
ww520
That's very touching. Wonder if it would lead to anything at all.

------
malkia
Thank you!

------
mlamat
Is that you, John Mccain?

------
kimura
Good read. Thank you for sharing. I hope they reconnect.

~~~
Asbostos
And her husband doesn't mind?

------
Uptrenda
Oh god, it's raining inside ;-------; That was such an elegant short story.

------
Gobiel
It lost all credibility at "thusly"..
[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thusly](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thusly)

------
njharman
Nice 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.

------
Animats
Is there a search engine for that?

You should be able to search all Government surveillance cams for your own
history.

------
InclinedPlane
People 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".

------
Asbostos
Could 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
Yes, "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?)

