I have been buying tickets for EVERYTHING lately.
Seriously.. I’ve got plans well into August..
Yesterday, I was looking at some events for September.
I bought tickets to see the band Muse.
I have always wanted to like Muse.
I did enjoy the song Madness, but never actually listened to the whole album.
I bought the tickets, and Juan told me that had more than 4 albums.
Whaaa? I definitely thought they had two.
After I had the tickets in my possession, I decided that the $135, plus the stay in Chicago, plus the anger, resentment, confusion(?) I have for the people I knew that LOVE this band..
I wouldn’t have enjoyed this concert.
I had to let them go.
I spent at least a month trying to sell them on Craigslist.
I kept getting little nibbles of interest, but when it came down to it..
I’m in Milwaukee, and the people were in Chicago..
And who would trust a stranger to MAIL SOMETHING THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO MAIL?
Who would trust a stranger on the internet at all? (lots of people) (not these people)
It all just became one big hassle.
So I made a plan to give them away.
Here is the ad I put on Craigslist.
MUSE TICKETS :
SECTION 319, ROW 9, SEATS 8 & 9.
PLUS, A PARKING PASS.
ALL WORTH $127 PLUS PROCESSING FEE.
FREE OF CHARGE TO THE WINNER.
Friends, strangers.
It looks as if my tickets will go unsold.
I bought them for all the wrong reasons anyway.
So, to make up for my bad decisions, I’d like to give them away.
There is a catch, however.
I would like for each person wanting these free tickets to give me a slice of their life.
A writing assignment:
A story of triumph born from tragedy.
(or any story that moves me, really)
I will pick the best entry by next week Friday.
February 22, 2013.
I will then mail the tickets, with no delay, to the winner, free of charge.
So think about it.
Make it count.
In the end, I only received three replies.
As it turns out, Craigslist has a glitch in the reply part..
(this i’m just hearing about)
I should have just posted my actual email address…
BUT WHO WOULD TRUST PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET?
This is the one I received first.
It seemed honest, and to the point.
Very nice of you to do this.
I will keep my entry short and sweet. My wife left me last fall, and since then most of my money and credit card space have been going to pay a lawyer, as I am fighting for custody of my daughter. I love going to concerts (I’ve been to over 60) and seeing Muse live would be a great night out to take my mind off things.
That being said, I saw Muse a couple years ago (they were fantastic live), so if I’m not chosen, it won’t break my heart.
Thanks again for doing this. Hope you get some entertaining stories!
-M
Yes, M. I, too, hoped I’d get some good stories.
This next one is a doozy.
Let me know if I’m wrong….
Saw your post –
Want them like anyone would. They are one of my favorite bands. Music is linked to my life through all the good and the bad. Discovered Muse on my honeymoon in Paris. Heard the album Absolution 6 months ahead of it being released in the states. Always reminds me of that and has a deep place in my heart.
I have never seen them live before, have seen tons of videos worshiped there every move and sound. Love their stuff, plain and simple.
The last album unfortunately, is linked forever to a very sad situation. My friend, “B” died suddenly at 34 – his wife just had a baby (3 months old – beautiful girl) Dan was a big fan of them, really likes the sound of matts guitars. I loved his voice and dominic as a drummer – WoW! I had to pick my brother up for us to go to the hospital to say goodbye to him, he already in an indeuced coma and never came out. It was a 2 hour drive and I listened to the 2nd Law 4 or 5 times that day back in forth. It was the only thing getting me through the day. Months later, I still have the images of going there in my head and can’t help it.
Nothing would give me more pleasure than to go to this show. It’s been rough without my best friend. No more talks of music or new bands – one of our last conversations was about Muse, how we were looking forward to the new album. It was about 2 weeks before this happened. He never got to hear it. I posted all of the songs on his page. Madness really summed it up for me.
Please consider me for this awesome show! I would be forever greatful!
Cheers!
God.. This is.. This is a lot.
And with my distrust of cuckoo banana beans on the interwebs, I thought..
“Well, this is just too involved to be true.”
On top of it.. If this band was so important to you..
If the last conversation you had with your best friend was about this band..
If you discovered them on your honeymoon?
Why on earth didn’t you buy tickets yourself?
They didn’t sell out immediately.
Nowhere near, actually.
This seemed very fantastical.
I didn’t pick him.
On the last day, I was struggling between the two.
What if the second story was true?
I received this email about a half an hour before I was going to decide.
This morning, as I chatted with my friend about her failing marriage, it dawned on me what I SHOULD have written about.
Possibly a tragedy at the time….
My husband’s job loss two years ago.
It was hell, quite honestly. No health care, wondering daily how we would pay our bills, mortgage, etc. Power shut off for days while we scrambled for money to pay the man. Looking at our child every day wondering how we would be able to provide for her was heart wrenching.
Stress and finances tends to put a massive strain on relationships. I have to say, it saved our marriage. That is what I said this morning to my friend. A job loss that was tragic at the time made us both realize when all is said and done, we still have each other. We got through it, together.
And if we have that, we have everything.
I’m sure you picked your winner already, but…that is my “tragedy”.
🙂
Whaaaaat? What you should have said?
Does that mean you said something before?
I was shocked..
Does that mean I missed plenty more applications?
I was curious as to why people wouldn’t snatch up the opportunity for free tickets, no strings attached..
I thought maybe that no one wanted to get that personal WITH A STRANGER ON THE INTERNET..
But no.
Who knows what I missed.
After a few email exchanges with this woman, she told me that her first email talked about how life wasn’t tragic.
It was kinda great.
And I liked that.
I chose her because she focused more on the good times, even though there had been some struggles.
Frankly, that she couldn’t even recall the struggle, until she was reminded.
So the first.. I felt for him. But he had seen Muse before, and by his own admission, wouldn’t be heartbroken.
The second.. I just didn’t believe it. (sorry if that was a true story, bro!)
And the third.. Seemed destined.
So there you have it.
Which one would you have chosen?
