Thank you for making eye contact

This is a real love note given to Zoë (A Girl I Knew) as she was getting off of BART the other day.

“Thank you for making eye contact. I find it to be a simple and extremely important part of building and being a community.

You have an extremely warm and sunny presence, which I really appreciate.”

This letter writer also invited Zoë for tea (“or go play on the swings”), which I also found pretty endearing. Of all the notes we’ve found on public transit lately (check out a few of them), this one is on the top of the sweet-o-meter.

Missed a connection on Muni? You can always submit your letter (or one that you found).

12 comments

  • Erik

    Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but repeated eye contact is usually an invitation to talk, assuming the person doesn’t seem like a weirdo. Handing over a note and then running off is strange.

  • Tara

    Well?? Did she call? I’m dying to know =)

  • Josh

    You might want to completely block out that phone number. It’s pretty legible the way it is.

  • GG

    FAR AND AWAY the best public transit note ever handed to me was this one, from the subway in Buenos Aires: http://webuiltthiscity.tumblr.com/post/12217411382/dude-just-handed-this-to-me-as-he-exited-my-subte

    Translation: “You are a beautiful and sensual woman, you have super fine hands, like a princess.”

    Bonus: My boyfriend now calls me “princess hands” as a joke.

    I agree with Erik — the person who handed me the note stood across from me in the subway car for like 10 minutes. He handed me the note as he left the train (his phone number was on the back). Why not just strike up a conversation with me??

  • How sad though, that it looks like someone tossed it on the ground. Love, rejected.

  • Zoe

    Hello All,
    Zoe here to clear a few things up.

    We were sitting a considerable distance away from each other (too far to try to strike up a conversation), both wearing headphones. I very much appreciated his note and thought it an appropriate and poetic mode of communication; an ephemeral experience made lasting through words on a page I can keep forever.

    Sometimes it’s nice to be less practical for the sake of poetic justice!

    Please check out this post, as it explains a few things as well:
    http://tender-curiosity.tumblr.com/post/20799964136/the-interesting-thing-for-me-is-thats-not-the

    <3 Z

  • eugenia

    Thanks Zoe 🙂 I thought it was romantic as well but I’m partial to letters and people who write them!

  • Emily

    I actually find men who ask women out to tea to be somewhat creepy.

  • Lynn Beach O'Neill via Facebook

    that is so sweet!

  • D

    Pretty endearing! Could also be the opening scene for a movie.

  • Heather

    *sigh*

    My main Bus is the 14….. I always get hit on my creepy older men. I HAVE TO avoid eye contact.

    Once on valentines day while traveling from Balboa Bart to Geneva and mission this guy tries to pick me up. This happened to be the year the MTV show ‘the pick up artist’ was airing. This guy must have studied that show like it was his math final. He used all the lines. It was very lame and awkward. When he asked where I was getting off he told me how scary Geneva and Mission was, I wanted to ask him if he thought it was soo dangerous then he should offer to walk me home. ( but i did not want him to so i did not ask).

    Another time I strike up a conversation with a nice looking guy around my age. He started to convince me to learn Spanish because he learned English to move here. Yes I am Mexican but No I do not speak Spanish, its hard to learn a language, I applaud you but stop judging me.

    I would be ecstatic to get a non creepy guy giving me a note.

Leave a Reply to Zoe Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *