WHO: Max Fox. And yes, that is his real name.
WHAT: Craigslist date
WHEN: early 2007ish
WHERE: San Francisco
WHY: Because he was a musician and cute and tall and a musician. I’m only human.
THE DATE
Oh, Max Fox. What a saga. Here comes part 1.
So this guy was a musician, obviously. His emails were funny and charming and subtle, which was a lovely departure from the gratuitous filth men had been sending me. Oh, Craigslist. Oh, 2007 Sarah.
Max Fox and I emailed back and forth for a couple weeks, witty banter a plenty. We tried to make plans but could never quite line up our schedules, and then he invited me to come see him play a show. Isn’t that every girl’s dream? What is it about musicians? This was my first foray into the field, and I was falling for it hook, line, and sinker. The show he was playing was in a venue that doubled as a Laundromat and a coffee shop/bar. I enlisted my roommate Karen to come with me just in case he was a serial killer.
Karen and I headed to the show fashionably late, which in the real world is simply late. The band was already playing so we stood in the back trying to figure out which guy Max Fox was. We had seen a vague photo of him on his band’s MySpace page, but it may have been angled or blurry. This was 2007, after all. Nobody really had all these snazzy iPhones that take professional quality photos. And yes, I am old.
Nevertheless, my roomies and I had all decided he was cute enough to warrant meeting in person. And did I mention he was tall and in a band? Karen and I decided that the hot guitarist was definitely Max Fox, and we spent the next hour watching him. We were getting excited because he was hot and talented and seemed to sort of like me, at least enough to invite me here.
After the show, we sort of hung around in the back awkwardly waiting for people to begin dispersing. I can’t remember now how things went, but I think Max Fox finally walked up to me. He was definitely not the hot guitarist, but he was the still fairly cute tall bassist. Once I adjusted my brain to like this person rather than the other one, we chatted a bit.
My other roommate’s boyfriend was having a party that night, and I invited Max Fox to join me there a bit later. He and the band had to pack up because the “Laundrobar” was closing, but he agreed and I gave him the address.
Karen and I headed to the party, and I was pretty elated. I had never done actual dating before, and this was my first encounter from CraigsList that seemed like it was going to go well. If my memory is correct, I waited like 2 hours for Max Fox to show up. I was starting to think he wasn’t coming so I was a few drinks deep by the time he finally called me and said he was lost. I yelled at Karen across the party that I was going to meet Max Fox (yes, you have to say his whole name every time because it’s fun) and ran outside.
He sauntered up the sidewalk out of the dark and gave me a hug. Musicians, am I right?
We decided to go for a walk, and headed into Golden Gate Park which was just a few blocks away from the party. I can’t remember if Max brought a six pack with him or if we stopped and bought one, but we eventually ended up on a swing set in the park drinking a six pack.
We talked and talked for hours and it was amazing.
We had so much in common, and he was sensitive and interesting and seemed to really like me. And we both owned typewriters, which made the nerdy writer in me so happy. It was one of those magical first encounters you see in movies. On swings. It was all the special garbage that romance is made of.
We had already exchanged phone numbers and we both said we definitely wanted to get together again soon. He drove me back to my apartment and I thought for sure he would kiss me.
Spoiler alert: He didn’t.
And over a month passed and I still hadn’t heard from him.
But then….stay tuned next week for the thrilling conclusion!
Never Compromise on Tallness or Baby Hands 