Lonely Guy tells Dori he still gets 1,000 calls a day
Jul 16, 2012, 1:34 PM | Updated: Jul 17, 2012, 4:54 am
All he ever wanted was a little company. Now Jeff Ragsdale has been overwhelmed with tens of thousands of calls and messages after posting a few flyers around New York City. He shared his amazing story with the Dori Monson Show. (Image courtesy Jeff Ragsdale) |
It’s hard to believe Jeff Ragsdale was ever lonely. After
all, he can get 1,000 phone calls a day. But it wasn’t
like that at all last fall, when he found himself alone
after a painful breakup.
“It was devastating. I lived with this woman for a year.
I’m co-dependant, I’d say. I found New York is difficult
to meet people, believe it or not,” Ragsdale said in an
interview Monday with the Dori Monson Show.
One day, inspiration struck. After seeing a bunch of
flyers for dog walkers and movers, he figured he’d post
his own. It simply said “If anyone wants to talk about
anything, call me.”
And call they did. Thousands of people from all over the
world called after a story about him went viral. It was
overwhelming.
“There was a guy who called me from Saudi Arabia and he
put it best. He said ‘You could be lonely in the desert
or in Times Square.’ He’s right, you know people have
called me and said ‘You know I’m married. I have three
kids and I’m the loneliest person in the world.’ You can
just go through cycles in life. And I think that’s why
this flyer resonated. Everyone’s been lonely,” said
Ragsdale
The people who called and sent messages shared their own
stories of love lost and found. He made friendships and
got
encouragement.
“I never thought anyone would really call outside of a
handful of people, and I thought half would be crazy. But
it’s been spellbinding because people have given me wisdom
that I would have never gotten anywhere else in my life,”
he said.
Ragsdale has parlayed the tens of thousands of messages
and conversations he’s gotten into a hugely popular book
“Jeff, One Lonely Guy,” and nearly nine months after it
all
started, he told Dori he can still get up to 1,000 calls a
day.
“I’m still in awe and don’t understand it,” he said. And
as for getting over the breakup that sparked it all, he
told Dori he’s had plenty of dates since, but so far has
yet to find the next “one”. But at least he’s got plenty
of people to keep him company.
Your thoughts from
Facebook:
Angela Mills That’s awesome. What a way to connect.
Karen Cahill Miles Ugh loser…
Brandon Shropshire I tried that, I wrote a little
message with my name and number on a bunch of dollar
bills, didn’t work.