A mandate for mothers

I’ll never forget the frigid Saturday night, in January 1967, when my mother asked where I was going, seeing me dressed in fancier duds than usual.  “I have a date with a guy in my class,” I said. “When is he picking you up?” she shot back.  “He’s not. He lives in Manhattan and I’m meeting him at a restaurant.”  It must be noted here that I lived in one of the New York City boroughs and I saw little point in making him travel an hour by train to pick me up, just so we could take another hour train ride back to Manhattan for our date. My mother made a sour face when she heard I was meeting him.

At last, I understand why my mother wanted my dates to pick me up in at home. She wanted to check them out,  just in case one was an ax murderer.  Mothers can always spot ax murderers a mile away. Today, young men never pick up women on dates, at least in my neck of the woods.  As a matter of fact, no one goes on dates. They go out in groups. They meet at clubs, bars, and heaven knows where else. Often, a mother –or father—won’t meet a guy until her daughter is on the verge of moving in with him, or getting engaged. Sometimes, a mother might not ever get to really know the guy, until it’s too late.

A manic brutally killed his 23-year-old, live-in girlfriend in Manhattan this past Sunday, following a fight loud enough for neighbors to hear.  I’ll save you the gruesome details of the murder. Newspaper reports say the young woman was breaking up with the maniac and her parents were supposed to pick her up to bring her back home.

Many young women don’t yet have the emotional sensibilities to sniff out maniacs who make plays for them.  That’s why they need their mothers’ noses. News of murders like this should be played up in every community around the country.  Maybe then young women would make darn certain to introduce mom to the men in their lives.