Replies

1. Have you been on a date with someone you met on the Internet? YES!

2. Did the date go well? Did a relationship result? YES! Super Duper Happy Marriage.

3. Did you meet them on a dating site or elsewhere? It was in a Yahoo Chat Room. Was it totally by accident or chance? Totally by accident.

4. Do you have a funny, gross, scary, or otherwise entertaining internet dating story to share? Either one that happened to you, or someone you know. Yes, but most of you have heard my story already.

5. Any funny or interesting “meeting the parents” stories? My husband and I met each other's parents the same day we met each other!

6. Has meeting the parents ever caused a breakup? Nope.

7. And, finally, have you ever set up a “backup” scenario to get out of a potentially bad date? Yup. If you are a chick, never meet the guy alone. Do it in a group. Have a couple friends come with you and ask your date to invite a couple of his friends. If you meet him on your own, have a cell phone handy. Make sure your family and friends know where you will be in case there's trouble. Make sure your first date is in a very public place. Make sure you are seen by people the entire time, including walking to and from your car.

If you are a chick, never meet the guy alone. Do it in a group. Have a couple friends come with you and ask your date to invite a couple of his friends.

A woman who follows this can pretty much write me off immediately, and I will write her off as well. I'm horrible in this kind of group dynamic. No matter what event is planned, I don't do well trying to get to know women in these situations. I need a time and place of quiet conversation without the distractions of her friends and my friends.

The compromise that I'd always offer is to meet her somewhere in public but where there are going to be few disturbances. For instance, the coffee shop at the Books-a-Million store nearest me just hasn't caught on. Every time I've been there, they have fewer than three of nine tables filled. There are too many people at the store for me to try anything, but they are all passing through or far enough away that they wouldn't be a distraction or interruption to conversation. She should feel completely secure, but I will be able to have the kind of conversation that allows me to be at my best.

Bill