Would it be a good idea to take a "blind date" to a steak house?

Dear Mom:

Would it be a good idea to take a "blind date" to a steak house?

Sincerely,

Stuck


Dear Stuck:

When I first read your question, I thought, "Well, sure. I like steak, and most girls I know like a good meal. Why not?" A short but sweet answer.

While discussing this question with my husband, however, he quickly reminded me that questions aren't always asked at face value, and neither should they be answered that way. "What he's really asking," he said, "is if he should spend money on a girl he has never before set eyes on. Steak houses are not cheap," my husband continued. "By the time you're done with the steak, potatoes, dessert and drinks, you are looking at a nice fifty bucks."

Well, I knew that was right, at least subconsciously. I'd been on plenty of dates since I'd married my husband, a good percentage of them at steak houses, and we'd never gotten out of the place under anything less than forty and that was probably because we'd ordered water with our meal.

"You're probably right," I said. I don't like to admit when my husband is right, not even "probably" right, but this time, dare I say it, he was.

I started to think about the first dates my husband and I experienced before we married-a movie, a day at the zoo, a dance at the church house; and then my mind wandered to the sometimes less than desirable kind-those blind dates that quickly turned to chaos.
Here's one: This guy, I can't even remember his name, took me out on a date to Lagoon.

Remember this was a blind date. Expensive in its own right, but I haven't gotten to the good part. I wasn't even sure I liked him yet and he was taking me on all the "dark" and/or "smushy" rides. You know the ones.

What they used to call the "Wild Mouse," and those dark and stupid ones like "The Terror Ride," which they amazingly still have. I didn't even know I liked him but he kept reaching for me like the Grim Reaper. I was more than happy to come home and leave him for good, okay, even after all that money he'd spent on me.

Was the money wasted?

You bet it was. The guy was a creep. In about an hour I saw that guy for what he was and wanted nothing to do with him.

This brings me back to your question. Why spend an evening at an expensive steak house with someone you have no idea about? Okay, other than what the person who lined you two up, told you?

Better to go to a doughnut shop, hang out for a bit. Talk. You know. Guaranteed, in about an hour, maybe even less, you will know if you're interested. And then what are you out? A few bucks? An hour or two?
A lot easier to swallow, don't you think?

Love,

Mom