The Date Interview
My mother thought that the world was made up of different classes of people. There were only two. Low class and Appropriate Class or I guess High Class. While she tended to place everyone she knew, met or worked with in a category, I could never see the world that way. My mother could just look at someone and knew instantly what class they belonged to. She felt that I needed to do this too when I made decisions about friends or people to date. Well, I was a very late bloomer being very shy and quiet.
Dating was quite an experience. I did not date until my junior year of high school. Before anyone could go out with me they had to pass the test my mother gave them. Before the date was even sanctioned, the unsuspecting boy had to come over to my house for an interview by my mother. If they did not EVEN pass the interview the date would never happen. So...said boy would show up to meet my parents. Setting was the formal living room, not the comfortable den. My mother and father would sit on the sofa and he would sit in the chair. I was sitting at the formal dining room table watching. It was all that I could do. It was totally out of my control. Plesantries were exchanged and the interrogation would begin. My mother did all the talking.
She would ask all of the following questions:
1. Who are your people and what are their names?
2. Where do you live?
3. What do your parents do for a living?
4. How long have your parents worked at those jobs?
5. How old are you?
6. What grade are you in?
7. Do you plan to attend college?
8. If so where do you plan to attend college?
9. Do you smoke?
10. Do you drink?
Those were the basics and depending on the answers, those questions could be expanded upon. Well, even if the boy passed the test, the grilling he got was severe and he most likely would not want to go out. Imagine a bug under a magnifying glass. That was how I felt just listening and I was not even my potential date. I did go out on less than 5 dates my entire high school career. Once the news got around that any boy I wanted to see or who wanted to see me had to interview with my mother, boys steered clear. If the boy failed my mothers test he was told on the spot that I was off limits and could not ever go out with them. Out of the 2 handfuls of people that she interviewed I feel that 2 really good honest people got away. One was a guy (I cannot recall his name now) who was in the ROTC and was going to college and entering the military. He came to call once after the interview and my sent him away post haste.
I imagine that the boy felt much like the dragonfly caught in the web my spider parents set out for him.
Dating was quite an experience. I did not date until my junior year of high school. Before anyone could go out with me they had to pass the test my mother gave them. Before the date was even sanctioned, the unsuspecting boy had to come over to my house for an interview by my mother. If they did not EVEN pass the interview the date would never happen. So...said boy would show up to meet my parents. Setting was the formal living room, not the comfortable den. My mother and father would sit on the sofa and he would sit in the chair. I was sitting at the formal dining room table watching. It was all that I could do. It was totally out of my control. Plesantries were exchanged and the interrogation would begin. My mother did all the talking.
She would ask all of the following questions:
1. Who are your people and what are their names?
2. Where do you live?
3. What do your parents do for a living?
4. How long have your parents worked at those jobs?
5. How old are you?
6. What grade are you in?
7. Do you plan to attend college?
8. If so where do you plan to attend college?
9. Do you smoke?
10. Do you drink?
Those were the basics and depending on the answers, those questions could be expanded upon. Well, even if the boy passed the test, the grilling he got was severe and he most likely would not want to go out. Imagine a bug under a magnifying glass. That was how I felt just listening and I was not even my potential date. I did go out on less than 5 dates my entire high school career. Once the news got around that any boy I wanted to see or who wanted to see me had to interview with my mother, boys steered clear. If the boy failed my mothers test he was told on the spot that I was off limits and could not ever go out with them. Out of the 2 handfuls of people that she interviewed I feel that 2 really good honest people got away. One was a guy (I cannot recall his name now) who was in the ROTC and was going to college and entering the military. He came to call once after the interview and my sent him away post haste.
I imagine that the boy felt much like the dragonfly caught in the web my spider parents set out for him.
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