It was Sunday Funday, the week before the Super Bowl, and I was in DC’s Chinatown, vigorously tipping back Tsingtao’s in honor of the Chinese New Year. Some friends and I were signed up to participate in a scavenger hunt where we had to run around collecting various items/taking pictures of ourselves/visiting local watering holes to complete the challenge. Upon completion, your name would be entered in a raffle to win various prizes and tickets to events around the DC area. Prizes included: Gift cards to bars, tickets to plays, sporting events, and concerts. I happened to be the lucky guy who won 2 tickets to see Rise Against on Sunday Feb. 5th at 7pm (i.e. the exact time of the Super Bowl).
Being the keen capitalist I am (and not being that in to angsty rock music), I decided to throw the tickets on Craigslist to try and line my pockets with a little extra greenery. $25 a pop was below face ticket value so I wasn’t trying to price gauge the person who would be buying the tickets. I also included a little tid bit on the ad saying “$25 each OR write me an essay (500 words of less) explaining to me why you deserve the tickets more than anyone else.”
I had 5 responses from willing buyers. Clearly $25 per ticket was a steal! But then, out of the blue, about 28 hours after posting the ad and I was in the process of lining up a meeting place with a buyer, one gentleman wrote me this essay:
Hi,
I have a 14 year old son who I have very little in common with since he hit his teen years, except music. Whenever I can I take him to concerts. We’ve driven to Rock-A-Thon in Syracuse the last two years and seen Avenged Sevenfold, STP, Bush, Hollywood Undead, Seether, etc. Last year I had to drive him to Cleveland to see Rise Against and Bad Religion because I was on work travel when they played in town.
He won’t do homework for me, never wants to have “father-son” chats, and has never forgiven his mother and I for our 6-month marital separation 4 years ago (she “switched teams” which was cool at first, but then went overboard). I just want to take him to the show for another rare bonding moment that might get me some positive mentions when he pours his heart out to his therapist in 10 years about what terrible parents we were.
But I suppose the tickets are gone huh? Let me know.
xxxxxxxxxx
I can’t really empathize with the man because I’m not a father, but I’ve seen enough television to know this is a serious situation. The fact that the man has a tough relationship with his kid and then tossed in the fact that his wife “switched teams on him” and “it was cool at first, but then went overboard” made my decision quite easy– this man was getting the tickets. We promptly set up a time to meet and I met him and his son and gave them the tickets. It was a nice moment and I felt like I was making this guy and his kid’s entire weekend.
The moral of the story is, giving really feels better than receiving. Is this extremely cliche? Yes. However, is it true? You’re goddamn right. Do I make Ghandi look like a child pornographer? Probably not. I really just wanted to toot my own horn while making you laugh and want to read this post with a funny title. Go do something nice for someone.
Scavenger Hunt pictures after the jump:
Hidden in the left hand column of your local craigslist, just below Craigslist Factsheet lies one of “The Best Things Ever” : Craigslist Missed Connections (MC). For the uninitiated, MC is a place where star crossed lovers come to meet. Don’t confuse this with chasing craigslist cougars in the casual encounters section…thats a whole nother bag of worms/cause for unpleasant antibiotics. Missed Connections is for people pretending to have class and hoping to give the fates an encouraging pat on the ass…firm enough so that fate knows you mean business, but gentle enough no one gets hurt…you know the one I’m talking about.
