It's fascinating (and scary) to think about your missed connections.
Haven't you ever wondered what might have happened if you found your missed connection? Though you know there probably hasn't been a time, it's still fun to read the Craigslist Ads and think, "what if?"
u/bark98 wanted to dig a little deeper:
People who actually found your "missed connection" on Craigslist, what ended up happening?
Here were some of the answers.
Hehe Grocery
My friend was carrying her groceries on a busy subway from Manhattan to Queens and this guy gave up his seat for her. They didn't chat, but locked eyes a few times and as the guy got off, my friend said they smiled and laughed at each other. After she got home her roommate told her to post on missed connections, but when she went on the guy had already posted about her! They dated for a short while, but he then got back together with an ex he'd met through AA.
OPP Party
Almost 20 years ago I was looking through the missed connections of the local paper and there was an ad that said "Some people are looking for happiness. Some people are looking for love. Me? Im looking for an authentic 'Down with OPP' baseball cap. Can you help me find one?"
It just so happens that the bodega right by my house had a bunch of hats on the wall including a Down with OPP one. So I call the number in the ad and it's just a recording of "Down with OPP" then at the end the guy comes on and says "YOU Down with OPP?" I leave a message about the hat and that's that.
Until next week there is an ad in the same paper that says "To my main man with the Brothrs Market hookup. I now walk tall and proud with my OPP hat. Thank you thank you thank you!" So yeah. I helped connect a guy with a hat. Does that count?
Kinda Cool, Kinda Weird
I used to browse Missed Connections. I saw one that said something like, "I see you walking your dog on [street] every day. You're cute and I'd like to talk to you." That was my street, and I'd seen lots of girls walking dogs there, so I figured I'd help a bro out.
I sent back something like, "There are quite a few cute girls who walk dogs on [street], you may want to update your post with a description of the girl and the dog. I'm the average looking blonde with the scruffy white dog."
He emailed back saying that I was the one he was referring to! WHAT. So I thanked him, and told him (truthfully) that I was a single mom going through a hard time and wasn't ready to even think about dating.
I got a friendly email back, wishing me the best, and that was that.
Not So Happy Ending
I had just moved to a new area and hadn't met many people, yet, so to entertain myself (I had yet to hear about Reddit) I would post clear jokes (I was not subtle) missed connections. The post he responded to was me looking for Waldo. He responded to me jokingly, as Waldo, saying he was in search of his love Carmen SanDiego. We chatted for a while and we hit it off. Met a few weeks later. Got married a few years later. Getting divorced a few years after that.
It's Friendship
I met someone from a missed connection. Once we met, I realized that I didn't have any romantic interest in this person, and he didn't have any in me. But, we became pretty good friends! We were even roommates one year when I was in university. Even now when we both have our own SO's, we still like to get coffee and catch up. He's a really awesome person!
This Takes A Turn
It was new years eve and i was having a horrible night. i couldn't get a cab from the house party i was at to get to party#2. i was wearing massive heels and had to walk all the way home because i was in too bad a mood to continue my night. as i reached my corner, a super drunk, super gorgeous guy came up to me and wished me a happy New Year's. i was about to tell him to piss off but i noticed that he was freaking beautiful and had a small bloody cut on his forehead. i pointed it out and he shrugged and stumbled away.
the next day, i decided to post a missed connection and he responded by that evening. he said he didn't remember getting a booboo. we hung out for a bit but i stopped seeing him because i didn't want to ONLY have anal sex.
Gay Bus Stops
I have a good friend that met this guy at a bus stop, I believe. They chatted casually for a few minutes and that was the end of it. Later, my friend was kicking himself for not asking the guy out for coffee or something and posted a missed connection about it.
About a week later, bus stop guy's boss was browsing missed connections and recognized the description of the guy's hat so he sent him the posting.
And now, several years later, my friend and bus stop guy are married.
My friend still has a screenshot of the missed connections post saved in his phone.
Good Things Come
I saw this girl at Starbucks that was just gorgeous. Looked like she was distracted going through some stuff on the phone so I didn't say anything. (don't wanna be that guy who can't read social clues)
Left and kicked myself over it later so next day I posted in missed connections. (although I was positive nothing would come of it, just felt good putting it out there).
Around 3 days later get a response. Not from her, but from another girl who read it and liked the sincerity in it. We ended up talking and exchanging numbers and have been dating since. (about 6 months now )
Mother Mary Comes To Me
I found one about me written by a long-gone ex. I let it be.
Nope Train
In college, I got dragged to a barn dance by my friends. Stood around bored for an hour or so, and left. The following week, there was an ad in the local classified section (this was in the 80's, so that was our "Craigs List " back then) from a guy describing me to a T. Said "I saw you there and would love to meet you and get to know you better "
Flattered, I agreed. We decided to meet at a local bar. I got there right on time and looked around. It took me a while to find him because HE SHOWED UP WITH FOUR FRIENDS. He didn't even talk to me for most of the short time I was there, because he was playing stupid drinking games with his buddies and ignoring me. One of his friends stayed hitting on me and grabbed my -ss. So I left.
He called THREE DAYS LATER and said "You left!" And I was like, "You just noticed?"
It Was Over
I noticed that I'd see the same Ford Focus ST several times a week during my commute. The driver was a total cutie. I caught him staring at me a few times, so one day I waved at him and he waved back. This went on for a few weeks. I posted an ad to see if he was out there, and I got about a dozen responses from guys claiming to be him. I knew immediately who the real one was, because he replied asking if I drove a red WRX.
We exchanged phone numbers. We texted a bit back and forth, but when he sent me this long gushy text about how it was fate and love at first sight, I got cold feet and panicked. I had just gone through a particularly nasty breakup and wasn't ready for anyone to talk about love at first sight.
Wedding, Wedding!
Best friend was crushing on a guy she saw at a bar. Put an ad in Missed Connections. His friend, who'd been with him at the bar that night, pointed it out to him.
They've been married about 10 years now. :)
Wild Ride
Went to see an oddly specific show. Outside, and then all throughout the evening inside, this very tall, but strikingly beautiful woman kept making prolonged eye contact with me. I was with some friends in a different city, and they wanted to leave the bar right after the show, so I didn't get a chance to talk to her. That week, back home, I posted a MC in her city, and she responded. It didn't really go anywhere, but she shared her SuicideGirls profile with me that had some more pics, so there's that...
Wasted Opportunity
Not an actual missed connection, but I was well known in an area I lived in as the "At&t sign girl"
A guy posted on missed connections looking for me and come to find out, he just wanted to give me free tickets to Busch Gardens that he got because he worked there.
If I hadn't gotten another job when I did, I could've gotten more free tickets from him.
Awwwwwwwwwww
I met my boyfriend almost four years ago at a bar that used to be down the road from where I lived. I would go to play darts with my best friend but I didn't drink. He was there that night playing in pool league. I went up right when we got there and asked him to take a picture of his shirt to show someone else. We didn't actually become a couple until October of 2014 but we are still together and I'm 6 days overdue with our baby.
Meet Cute
My step brother posted missed connection for a girl he saw when he was at traffic court. She was there for a speeding ticket just like he was so he thought he had a good meet cute story. She responded to his ad with a polite "thanks but no thanks".
He did end up meeting his wife on Craigslist a few months later, but just by posting a regular ad though.
Not All Is Meant To Be
Randomly my friend saw my name and description mentioned on one of these missed connections and sent it to me. I decided to followed up and went back to the store I originally met her (the girl who posted) and asked her for her phone number. We went on some really nice summer dates. Long walks and talks, drinking beer etc. September rolls around. Then one day we meet up for lunch but she was a little stressed about money and rent. So I said I would see if i could help her get a job at the place I worked at. Some warning signs started to appear like when I asked her to make a personalized cover letter instead of a generic one and she got upset by that. In any case, she made a new one and submitted it. At work, I put in a good word for her and eventually she was hired. At this point the relationship wasnt past the point of mere dates but that was OK as I was soon going abroad for half a year and didn't want more. Soon this girls true colors revealed themselves. I noticed early on that it was tricky getting a hold of her at times deducing it to some people being unattached to technology. But realized she had a pattern of selectively getting back to anyone. My Co worker one day tells me that she saw her name on a weekly schedule and didn't want to work one of the shifts so she just took a pen and scratched her name off. Without alerting the manager or finding a replacement. As in a grown adult scratching her name off a disposable schedule thinking that that would make everything ok. Anyways long story short: she was a bag of issues and seemed to be stuck in a world that involved bending reality to meet her needs. I wrote her a message on Fb one day telling her how i regretted helping her and then deleted her off my Fb which was like a slap on the face back then. The end.
Nope-De-Nope
I posted this before but it applies here too.
A guy once posted a missed connection about me (easy to figure out with the description he gave and the location he saw me). My boss actually showed it to me because even she figured it out. I was 18 at the time and when I told my mom about it she told me that I should email him and say hey. (She didn't know better and I was naive and eager to hang out with him, as I remembered who he was). I messaged him, we hit it off, hung out for a while and everything seemed cool. Then things got nuts. In the few short months we hung out, he found out that his clinically psychotic ex girlfriend was pregnant. She got kicked out of countless homeless shelters for starting fights, and her mom wouldn't let her live with her because she was freaking insane, so she moved back in with CL guy.
While he was upset to have her back in his life, he was happy to have a baby and was eager to take care of it (he was going to fight for full custody after it was born because of mothers issues) .. the entire time she was pregnant, she drank, smoked....they would get into screaming matches. Eventually he tried to move out. After one particularly bad fight, he packed everything up and went to a hotel without telling her so she wouldn't try and follow. While he was out, she snooped through the stuff he left behind and found the ring he was going to use to propose to her before she showed her true psychotic colors. She thought he bought it because of the baby, started wearing it and posted about it all over Facebook. Through all of this, I was there to help support him emotionally and be an escape from his life. I certainly never saw him as someone I'd be in a relationship with but I enjoyed hanging out with him. Then, when psycho girl announced that they were "engaged", he decided "ahh.... alright whatever let's do it". So they moved back in together and she made him cut all connection with me (no problem.. that was too much drama for my liking).
A few days later, I get multiple long messages from this girl, her cousin and her second profile she made after I blocked her. She accused me of being a home wrecker, saying that she was going to call the cops on me (no idea what for) and that I needed to watch me back because she "knew" where I lived (She didnt... the town she said I lived in wasn't even in the same county of where I actually lived). I kept blocking her and eventually she shut up. 3 years later, that guy messaged me on Facebook. They had the baby, mom's in a mental hospital and he has full custody. He wanted to meet up and "pick up where we left off" but I noped out of that.
So Horrible
My roommate was biking home after a party in a particularly flamboyant jacket. Later that night there was a missed connection describing his bike route and jacket.
He reached out to the woman (also an avid cyclist). They dated for 3-4 months. Then, one day, she was hit by a truck while cycling in the bike lane. Died instantly. I used to pass her white bike every day on my bike commute.
I'm Out
I was at work one day when a co-worker, named Erika, told me I'd had a missed connection written about me. I worked at a bookstore, downtown in a big city as a visual merchandiser. I had read the Missed Connections before, dreamed that one would get written about me, but never thought it would happen-cause that's the stuff out of a Rom-Com. Never the less she sent me a link to the missed connection and this is it:
Working at (Name of my bookstore) on Sunday (20th of December) (the address of my old bookstore)- m4w
You were pushing a cart or trolley full of books, I was in a rush as I passed by you. We locked eyes a few times though. You had long dark hair, and I was wearing a toque and black leather Jacket.
Now this may seem pretty vague, but it's me. Nobody else was in that day and merch people push carts like it's nobody business, and the other merch girls on that day were a red haired girl and a pale brunette.
So I responded. Mostly because I don't like to leave people hanging. People should wonder "whatever happened." HE GOT CREEPY REAL QUICK. I mean 0-stalker in 60 seconds. I went on vacation with my parents (Christmas time) and he emailed me 3 times in the span of 5 days being like "Where'd you go?", "You still there?", "Drop off on me?" He added me on FB and IG without me telling him what those handles were. He started liking pictures I'd been tagged in on my friends Instagram. Visited my ex's pages. He kept pushing for my phone numbers or saying he "was going to be around my work" on days I wasn't even working. Luckily I had already found a new job.
