Craigslist Missed Connections

Like my friend Patrick says:

Reading Craiglist’s Missed Connections is probably one of the most voyeuristic things you can do on the web without buying a subscription. If you say you’ve never looked at them and hoped there was one for you I think you’re probably lying.

There have been times when I have considered placing my own Missed Connection notice, just to see what would happen, if the random object of my affection (a stranger on the subway, some nice dude who helped me pick up my dropped papers, whatever) would read it and contact me. Never done it though.

Patrick points to a really cool project that I am basically in love with: Brooklyn-based artist Sophie Blackall has taken some of the Craigslist Missed Connections and turned them into art. Go check it out – they’re amazing! Here’s just one example of what she is creating:

etsy.luggage.jpg

The cumulative effect of looking at all of these (and yes, like Patrick said, some are really creepy) is kind of amazing. It makes the human race seem, well, friendly, and like one of our universal needs is to connect, and sometimes you randomly meet a stranger, or you even SEE them across a crowded room, and you want to know more. You can’t forget that person. So you reach out, on Craigs List:

“Blue dress on the M train …”
“If not for your noisy tambourine …”
“I bought you that milkshake …”

People looking for each other, wandering the urban canyons, looking to connect.

Please go check Blackall’s art out – it’s really great stuff.

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3 Responses to Craigslist Missed Connections

  1. DBW says:

    I was in a restaurant in Lexington, KY back around 1977, and I got a whiff of something wonderful. I turned, and there was a young lady standing about 3 feet from me. I only saw her from behind, and, like the character in Citizen Kane, I’ve never completely gotten her out of mind. She had a certain grace about her. I watched her walk outside with a group of people, she turned the corner, and 30 years later I still remember. I can’t wait to read through the link.

  2. george says:

    A similar experience as DBW’s. Making my way through a plaza to the entrance of a downtown Chicago skyscraper I settled in behind what, from my limited vantage point, was a beautiful young woman, all the time wondering what she looked like. As we approached the door the young woman stepped ahead and held the door open for me and smiled. Now I’ll never forget the face I wondered about.

  3. Marisa says:

    These are gorgeous. Thank you for sharing this!

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