Craig's List Retraction

The post on Craig's List was born out of massive misbehavior on my part. I had left work early due to an exceedingly high fever. I went home, crawled into bed, and listened to the phone ring 17 times. Various friends and coworkers called all afternoon. I would take a call on the cell, listen as another rang through and the home phone would sound. I got not one minute of desperately needed sleep.

By the time Roomie came home, I was thoroughly angered at the whole world for no good reason. I was just tired, sick, and feeling selfish. The letter was created and Roomie posted it just to see what would happen. It wasn't until the fever finally rescinded that I realized what my misbehavior had wrought. It's not like me to be so thoroughly selfish.

For the most part, the post - which did go live - resulted in some hilarious offers of friendship. We had 20 emails and responded to about 10. We're pondering doing a Craig's List dinner just to follow-through on what would have been hilarious if not so cruel and unjust towards our current friends, who are good people and love us in their own way.

We received one scathing email, villifying us justly for thorough egocentricity. At first, we laughed about it, but on second thought - it was the most accurate and necessary criticism I have ever received. And though I joked that the writer needed a hobby, in the end I will be eternally grateful for the following paragraph:

I find your [post] one of the most ridiculously stupid, shallow and selfish, to the extent it's almost physically painful to read it. Your post just screams" WE, WE, WE", the word that you despise when coming out of your friends mouths.

You are right. We were wrong. And friendship does, indeed, mean complete self-sacrifice. How kind are strangers to lead us to the growth our friends dare not suggest.