Thanks for your post, which makes sense and made me laugh, especially the line, “These people are deranged.” I also got a kick out of the visual of your mother with six children in tow being whistled at. She may have been flattered!
LOL, she wasn’t...she was angry, and laid into my dad later for leaving her alone in a foreign country with all those kids.
Of course, years later she laughed about it (while he grinned loudly) and she would imitate the gestures and mouth sounds they made, looking outraged at my father, while inside, was probably flattered...:)