Lost Soles in the Classifieds

By Greg Cohn, 4-02-05

I've always thought a community's classified ads are an interesting window into its psyche. From the dirty laundry of the legal listings -- such formal notices for such workaday things -- to the voyeuristic pleasures of browsing the "homes for sale," reading classifieds is a strangely addictive pleasure. Like an archaelogically discovered trash heap, they're great fodder for time capsules.

For me, though, the most inscrutable entries are inevitably the most poetic. Take this poor fella for example, who seems to have lost his golf shoes on the road to Lolo. Did he stop on the side of the road, set his golf shoes up on top of his car while grabbing a cold one from the cooler in his trunk, then forget all about them? Did he hurl them spitefully out the window during a domestic dispute?

What was he doing with golf shoes on the road to Lolo in March anyway? [End of article]