Julia

__Blind Happily Ever After__ My whole life I always looked forward to my family trip to Puerto Rico. As I got older, though I stopped going as I spent my time elsewhere, my parents however continued the trip every year at the same time like clockwork. In early 1990, as my parents prepared to leave for their trip my mother called me to tell me that she knew of young man she thought I might like to meet. The man she was talking about the son of another couple she and my father had met many years ago on their yearly trip. I was not at all thrilled that my mother had thought it was a good idea to fix me up with someone I did not know, but I grudgingly agreed to meet him. Shortly after my parents left I received a call from a man named Jonathan Woloshin. He identified himself as the son of my parents friends that had met in Puerto Rico, and he was calling to ask me out on a date. Throughout the conversation we figured out that we had a lot in common. As we tried to pick a date we both appeared very busy, often with similar activities, I was taking a wine tasting class and he collected wines. We were finally able to settle on Thursday night after my wine tasting class and he agreed to pick me up at the 92nd Street Y. I was apprehensive yet excited for my date as I was leaving the class I realized I had no idea who this man was and he had no idea who I was. When I reached the lobby there was very tall man leaning against the wall, holding an umbrella. I approached him directly and said “Are you Jon?” He smiled mischievously and replied “Maybe, are you Debbie?” We were the last ones left in the lobby so I was able to conclude that this was Jon. We walked in the night and the whether was nice but slightly cool. We arrived at The Summerhouse, sat down, and placed our orders. I was about to get up to use the restroom when it occurred to me: I was a young girl in New York City, living on my own, and how did I really know this guy was who he said he was. So I turned to him “I’ve never met you before, you’ve never met me before. How do I know who you say you are? He turned to look at me and said “Are you kidding me?” And I was not, so I said “I’d like to see some ID please.” Reluctantly he pulled out his wallet, laughing and handed it to me. I searched through his walled, at his ID, credit cards and driver’s license and handed it back to him, satisfied at the results. After we finished the meal he walked me to the corner so I could get a taxi. Before he did, he asked about playing Pool, for the next we saw each other, and he said “That is if you’ll consent to go out with me again.” The next morning my best friend called me to ask me how my date had gone, and I told her “ I am going to marry him.” There was a short silence from her end of the line and finally she said “After just one date?” I was confident that the statement would soon be true, when I arrived at work I noticed that he sent me flowers and later he called me to make another date. After twenty years of marriage to the man I met at the Y I might say that it is okay for your mother to fix you up. Almost every girl dreams of her wedding from a very young, what dress she will wear and that her very best friend will be the maid of honor. When girls finally begin to interact with boys their own age some girls even think: is the boy I am going to marry among the boys in front of me? We would all like to think we are going to marry some one we’ve known almost all of our life instead of a perfect stranger. All people, boys and girls alike, dread the thought of marrying or even dating someone they haven’t known since pull-ups or braces. However, to my mother’s own dismay she lived her two of her very own nightmares when her mother set her up with some man she had never met, let alone heard of. Young girls, especially those who have just left home and are living on their own are usually vulnerable targets for their parents, just getting used to or just trying out life on their own, parents-mothers especially-would feel their motherly instincts kick in, that the girl, their baby girl, is in need of their help. When my grandmother set my mother up with my father my mother felt that her mother felt that she couldn’t do it alone, that she might never find a nice man, like my dad. My mother also felt a little like her mother was trying to control her by setting her up as if she was setting the stage for a wedding my mother was not informed of. Although my mom admits that this event was only good, she couldn’t help slightly resenting her mother for taking matters into her own hands when there was no immediate reason for such actions. Though, it only seems like my grandmother could not help herself, that she had to do something, that it was the right thing to do. The answer is different depending on who you ask, because every girl has a different relationship with their mom. Even though a mother and daughter don’t always see eye to eye they always have the best intentions. A girl wonders about her fairytale wedding, in hopes that she will find the prince to share it with and a mother is just trying to make sure that her little princess finds the right prince so she can finish her fairytale with a happily ever after, like she had always intended.

Lily - Different perspectives from your mom and dads lives - You can clearly see how their experiences have been

__Laura__ -I really like the format that you chose. The reader can easily see the questions and the answers. This is a great start, but a question to think about is, "Do i want to turn it into a story instead of keeping te format i have now?" -Your questions really are able to make the interviewee think, and it clearly shows how the responses of your mother and father can compare. -The explanation after each question almost acts as a summary to conclde on the thought that has been discussed by your parents.

Bilal -Good story -It's almost as if you just took your interview and used it as an essay, make it more essay-like

__George__ Make it more of a story rather than an interview A little less confusing

MrC Well I think Laura hit the nail on the head--there's a lot of interesting things in here--they actually made me think back to when i was in HS and college and groups of friends etc.--but I don't know if you found the best way to get it all across. It would be great if you could find the answers that most interest you and go back and ask for stories from that--for instance if you were interested in your dad going to Giant games, could he tell you a story of one time... that you could re-tell and let that scene show us, instead of you telling us. Another question that I think you should ask is about when your parents first got interested in the opposite sex, when was the first date, what did "dating" or "going out" mean. I know for a lot of males, puberty is a period of real awkwardness around girls--many are jealous of the boys who somehow know how to talk to girls--anyway that's an area of boy/girl friendship that you didn't get into much...

Daniel I like the answers and there is a lot of good material to work with I would just change the format into either a story or an essay