"I was dating Suzanne and things were going perfectly... until I met her dad. Suze took me to this Italian restaurant to meet him and after waiting almost an hour for her dad to show up, I insisted that we order. The waiter was a snob and the service was terrible. After I made a scene at our table and 'shushed' Suzanne repeatedly, out came the owner. Just as I was about to tear into him, Suzanne jumped up, threw her arms around the owner, and said; "Dad, I'd like you to meet Dan — Dan, this is my dad!" I figured hiding under the table was not an option at this point, so I stammered out a 'hello', to a less-than-enthusiastic handshake. Suze and I lasted less than a month after that scene, and I now prefer Chinese food!" — Daniel, 29

"You've probably heard the old Rodney Dangerfield line that goes: I went to a fight last night, and a hockey game broke out. Well, I went to a hockey game a while ago with a buddy, and sitting next to us was this big, loud jerk, who kept screaming and dumping beer on me. I asked him to please keep it down, but he ignored me. After ignoring the usher, security guards sent him home. A few months later, my steady girlfriend of about 6 months, Wendy, invited me over to her dad's house to watch a hockey game. I knocked on their door, and wouldn't you know it, the same jerk from the arena opened the door — beer in hand — and invited me in. We watched the game, and fortunately he never recognized me. It could've been a disaster, but thank goodness for beer, I guess."
— Rick, 24

"I was invited to a Father's Day party at my girlfriend's cottage last summer, as she wanted me to meet 'daddy'. It was a beautiful day, and after some tennis and swimming, it was time for a barbecue. Seriously trying to "kiss up" to Elaine's dad, I volunteered to stand over the hot bbq despite the 90-degree weather. I assured him it would be fine and that I was an old hand at this. I wasn't. To make a long story short, my attention was on Elaine's bikini instead of the lighter fluid. Two hours later, much of her family's cottage deck was in ashes. Fortunately, nobody was hurt but you could say our relationship went up in smoke!" — Michael, 28

"I went to pick up Colleen at her parent's place where I met her dad for the first time. As we were leaving for dinner, he whispered in my ear: Don't take this wrong, but I'd rather you take my daughter in my car, I think she'll be safer. True, my 1984 sedan wasn't terribly impressive, not quite like his expensive foreign roadster. I thanked him and we backed out of the driveway. We got to the restaurant where I handed the keys to the valet attendant — begging him to be careful. After enjoying a romantic dinner, we waited in front for the fellow. After 10 minutes, I went back inside and asked the manager where the valet parking attendant was. He replied: We don't have valet parking, sir! The car was eventually found, completely stripped, in a downtown warehouse. Suffice it to say, it wasn't a great night." — Brad, 35

"A few years ago I decided to take a couple of night courses at the local community college. I had just started dating this girl, Ellen, but we weren't too serious yet. Soon enough, my creative writing professor realized that I was there more for the beautiful scenery than for learning — I spent most of my time staring at the women and trying to flirt with them. Eventually he called me on it in front of the class, we got into an argument, and I walked out. Ellen didn't know I was taking the course, and that night, after class, I was surprised to see her in the parking lot. She said she was taking her dad to dinner and invited me along. I got into the car, and then, five minutes later, so did her dad — my ex-professor! I guess if I had been paying attention to the class, I might have made the connection." — Evan, 26

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