When I started writing about the classifieds, I'd select Missed Connections or I Saw U ads from all around the country and then write up the imagined story behind them on my blog. And I enjoyed this a lot. Sometimes the stories were funny, but mostly they were sad. This category is strewn with missed opportunities and loss.

But these fiction stories were far more personal to me than just making fun of the posters. These little stories were a part of me that I could share with the little crew that read my blog, but I was loath to do so on Gapers' Block.

Life is risk though, right? So I'm going to revert back to my old Missed Connections format this week. The ads, then the "real" stories behind them. You never know; you might like it.

Clark & Lake blue line monday 10pm-ish - m4w - 27
I had a brown shirt on, and you kind of stared when I was fighting the CTA card robot machine. You had a white jacket and really blonde hair. You looked familiar but not really. I wanted to say hello, but I felt weird about talking to people on the subway. The law of CTA averages determines one of us has to be insane or musty. Drop me an email if you see this. It would be nice to find out if you actually smell weird. I'd bet not. (Craig's List)

She did not notice him while the Beatles song "Across the Universe" played in her head. Elizabeth cast herself in her own video for the song and timed everything she did with the beats of the music. The swelling of the strings in the bridge went perfectly with her descent to the platform. As she missed the train, Elizabeth thought what a lovely image it would make, her hair fluttering in the breeze and coming to rest again on her shoulders.

Free Cat - Adorable and Plays Fetch!!
Hi, I have a white and black cat that I would like to give away to someone who only wants one cat. I got her from my brother's girlfriend. She's about 5 years old and is an indoor cat.

I'd like to send her to a home where she will get lots of love and attention and with no other cats. I think she prefers people to cats. She is very affectionate in the mornings and likes to play fetch with those little furry mice toys. I have never seen a cat do this before and I love playing with her. She's so cute!!

I'm giving her away because I think she deserves more attention than I am giving her.

Thanks! (Craig's List)

Sometimes, all you can do is watch the world slip away. You can't stop it; you just watch. And though Shirley tried to put a nice face on it, some time ago, she had simply let go and her control, more dense than anything else, had sunk deep. Shirley sifted through whatever was left. The books went to the library. Her clothes to the AmVets. But the cat.

Shirley had basically stayed alive for the cat for months now. Watching it play was the last thing that made her happy, and she wanted so desperately to give it to someone who would love it. You can't live for a cat.

Need advice to pay or not to pay - w4mw - 24 I need advice.
I broke my boyfriends nose, or should I say we broke his nose, before we broke up. Unfortunately he left for an overseas trip almost immediately after it was broken and then he didn't get it fixed for a good month after that. Insurance covered most of it so his bill was only 1000

When we were together I kept telling him to get it fixed and I think he didn't because he was cash strapped. He would never respond with an okay or a no need when I told him I would pay for half of it. In his last email before we broke up he mentioned the amount he was paying for the surgery; it slipped my mind to ask when we split.

I know he has cash to pay for it but is saving for his house and I have cash to pay but am using it for college. It's been nagging me and I would rather just send him a check rather than call him and ask him. Should I give up and send a check or should I just leave it as done? (Craig's List)

The sleepless nights were marked on the calendar with a circle. There were seven of them, spread throughout the past month. Dana liked to code her dreams with colors; red for nightmares, pink for sex dreams. Green for the sleepless nights.

He had wanted it, though. So why should she pay? But she'd enjoyed it, too. So why shouldn't she pay? Even after Ben's nose was broken, he had gone on and one about the near-orgasmic pleasure of the moment when her fist met his face. It seemed worth it to him, but Dana felt like she was paying for it, one way or the other.

Huge Screwup Seeks Second Chance
I saw you on our wedding day. You wore an awesome dress and there were flowers in your hair. I looked better than I usually do. That was a year ago and I've been a jackass ever since. I need to not be the screw up that I was if I want the many more years of happiness we've dreamed of. I haven't made anything easy for you but nothing means more to me than our marriage. Please have faith in me. I am better than my history.

When: Sunday, October 17, 1999
Where: In My Dreams
I saw a: Woman
I am a: Man (Chicago Reader)

They both loved the crisis mode. She'd leave him. He'd leave her. And then the one in "trouble" would pull out all the stops to win the other back. Ted and Jill couldn't live a stable life. It felt like death to them. The broken vases, empty boxes of tissue, and half-heartedly packed suitcases made their marriage work.