Karie is a pretty, vivacious real estate broker with her own company. Her friends told her they knew someone looking for a house. Of course, Karie said she’d be happy to help and show him some homes. He showed up with flowers. Karie didn’t know what to say so she didn’t mention the flowers. She made a point of not picking them up and taking them out of the car as they visited prospective homes for sale. It’s like a date but not a date. The date that wasn’t. It’s worse than a blind date. At least with a blind date you know you may be stepping in it.
My blind dates through friends never worked out. One resulted in the start of my stage career which is good. The other date showed up at my door and made me change my shoes before we left my place. My footwear made me too tall he wanted us to be the same height. I searched my closet to find the flattest flats I had. The date deteriorated from there, nothing redeeming about it.
I referred to the Internet for blind date history. Wikipedia has several reality TV series and a lot of movies on that theme, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_date. These two little words actually didn’t enter our language until the early 1920’s and its American slang. Interesting, I wondered what they called it before 1920. But, I couldn’t find any references to anything like it before that time. I guess it’s a new word brought into the world by dating moving into public places and out of the home under the watchful eye of your family. That doesn’t sound like a fun date for sure. Very awkward, your brothers, mom and dad staring at your “date” while you all make small talk. That’s much worse than a blind date. No wonder we invented blind dating.
Happy Valentine’s Day which did start way before 1920, hundreds of years ago in the Middle Ages. I’d love to hear your Valentine ’s Day and blind date stories.
Life and Befuddlement 