Tuesday, August 30, 2005

But, Mom...

I got my driver's license when I was 19. When it arrived in the mail, my mother opened it, as she did all of my mail back then. Mixed in with my license, was the license of another girl of the same age, height, and weight.

My mother took it upon herself to write a letter to the girl, while returning the license. She read it to me. It was a plea to the poor girl to meet my dateless 22 year old older brother. My mother was neurotic enough to worry about Larry's single status. It was 1971, and I guess he was headed to confirmed bachelorhood or some such thing. Heck, at 19, I was almost an old maid.

Anyway, as she read me the letter, I thought it was a little too pathetic to ask a stranger to date your son, but I would never have said that outloud. I would have gotten smacked for it, besides, Larry was attractive. I'm not sure if she ever told him about the letter, though.

Instead, I told her the girl was black, as indicated by her race status on the license. She tore up the letter immediately, with this very unhappy look on her face. I kind of wish now I had kept my mouth shut and waited for this whole "date my son, please" scenario to play out. I wonder if I would have wound up with a black SIL, which would have been alright with me.

Next time: Why I waited until age 19 to get my license.

3 comments:

consise10 said...

Great post silvergirl. Has me in complete stiches! Sooo funny, and I needed a good laugh!

Silvergirl said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Consise. I guess you can tell I have issues with my mother. I also have an interesting story about her opening up a letter before I knew about it and confronting me with it. Geez!

consise10 said...

Shit the fucking things you remember! How hilarious !