I’ve put up a post or two on Craigslist recently for maternity clothes and prefolds that I didn’t end up using for A2. I’ve gotten several calls for both, all from ladies. At the beginning of November, I got a string of texts that at the time I thought were strange, but not necessarily threatening.

Craigslist Creeper: hi selling clothes still?

Me: yes!

CC: for sale or trade?

Me: would you like to come by tomorrow? Sale unless trade for cloth diapers…

CC: I have some swimsuits dresses bras body shapers

Me: Nah, probably $

CC: One piece swimsuits and skirt?! Undergarments also

Me: sorry, I’d rather have cash cause I have a new BEBE

CC: aw damn

CC: I really need some clothes

CC: need a 16GB flashdrive?

Me: sorry dude I’m too broke to trade

CC: nor booty shorts

I got totally creeped out by what I thought “she” was trying to trade me, and it went on for so long. Who trades undies? I thought she was newly pregnant and was desperate for maternity clothes.

Then one month to the day later, I get a call from a dude asking questions about the maternity clothes. Did I have dresses, how much were they, could I send some pics? I thought that’s what the ad clarified, but maybe his pregnant girlfriend wanted the clothes and he was getting them for her. He sounded young and more than a little dumb. He asked if I could come to him because he didn’t have transportation. I got weirded out again and told him there was NO way I was driving to meet a stranger for a potential sale of $20. I had kids, he could take a bus if he really wanted them. Not that he ever said they were for a gal. My alarms were going off. I agreed to send him a pic of the dresses but figured I wouldn’t hear back like so many people on Craigslist. When I pressed send on the pic, I realized it was the same number that sent the trade for undies texts. I wish I could’ve stopped the pic from sending.

CC: I like it

CC: wait did I call you

I didn’t respond. Who trolls these ads and doesn’t remember if they’ve spoken to the same person this many times?

Last night I get a call at 11pm. I am in bed, lights off. I see that the person calling is “Craigslist do not answer.” He leaves a message, “hey I am interested in the black skirt, my name is Sarah, call me back at xx. If I don’t answer the phone, leave a voicemail. Thank you, bye.”

I try to decide what to do. Hubs is asleep on the floor with EB in her room putting her down for the night, so I can’t ask him. I often have an impulse to tell people what they’re doing wrong so they learn from it, in case they’re oblivious. I should’ve just written that the clothes were sold and not answered again, hubs said later. But instead, this happened:

Me: please stop calling and texting. I’m not interested in selling the maternity clothes to you. Inappropriate texts, requests to drive and meet you, and calling way too late have set off red flags for me.

CC: what? Your selling what I can’t buy and how’s it inappropriate texts? It not late.

I don’t reply. A few minutes later he calls again. I don’t answer. I don’t check the message. I got freaked out. Hubs comes in the room with his pillow after he was sure EB was asleep and I told him I was getting harassed. He tells me not to check the message and walks outside with my phone. He came back in and said that the dude left the exact same message as before, like he hadn’t just gotten the text to quit it and he hadn’t just replied. Hubs called him to tell him to stop calling and CC said to give him a reason. Hubs said he didn’t have to. CC said he’d keep hacking, whatever that means.

Hubs called 311 and now if CC calls or texts again, it’s considered harassment.

How do I collect these stalkers? I had two in high school. One was a dude that became unstable after he got a high fever and everyone gave a hard time, but he was also quite inappropriate. I tried to reason with him but it just led to a fixation with me. He tried to come by my house, sent me a love note, and sent me flowers when i was really sick with viral menengitis. The second was a gal who was dating a boy I dated for a hot second before her. She called, drove past my house, yelled at me in the hallways. In both instances I didn’t just let it go; I engaged by telling them they were in the wrong. Eventually they went away, but are the reason I am anonymous on this blog, and use initials for most of my friends unless they already have an Internet presence.

I’m freaked because this dude was trolling the baby and kids section of Craigslist. He is harassing a mother, who is worried for her kids. That’s who he chose to either prank (hubs’ theory to make me feel safe) or be crazy to. Its too close to the shootings in Connecticut for me to take this lightly; what if he’s unstable and these are signs of someone who will act out in a bigger way like the shooter at the elementary school? Or if it is just a high school DB, how can he be so insensitive and thorough by texting then following up with the same number twice? I wonder how many people he’s called, or if it’s just me.

I feel sick today. Unsafe. What a sick individual, regardless of whether or not he means me harm.

Thanks for listening.

Jells.