"Ask Debbie Sue" Dating advice with author & comedian Debbie Sue Goodman

I hope everyone is keeping warm in this cold arctic air. I can’t wait for spring to arrive. 

This week’s column I’m enclosing a story about a date I went on several years ago with a guy that took me to dinner and enjoyed the way the food was presented. He enjoyed it so much that he took pictures of every dish during the entire meal!

I was having dinner with one of my friends last week at a restaurant. We were sitting in a booth. There was a table of six people (with two couples) that were obviously celebrating something. They were seated directly in the middle of the room and the restaurant was crowded. As soon as the waitress brought our meal, I saw some flashing lights and I turned to see where it was coming from. A woman at that table was taking photos of everyone at their table. It caught my friend and I off guard and the flashing was bothering us. The woman didn’t stop taking photos for what seemed like forever, or until the waitress brought their dinner. I was blinking the whole time she was flashing those bright lights aimed toward our table. It reminded me of one of my humorous stories I talk about in my comedy shows. About having lunch with a guy I worked with that was spitting food in my eyes while he talked. I was blinking the whole time he was talking. He thought I liked him and I was ‘winking’ at him!

This time was different. My friend and I kept blinking and trying not to turn and look at the camera and flashing lights coming from the table next to us.

After she stopped taking pictures, My friend and I spoke about this topic. I’d love to know if any of my readers ever had something like this happen while they were dining in a restaurant. It’s rude and very disturbing. We were trying to eat and relax while dining out and this woman kept snapping away, without caring about the people around her. Unless someone is in a ‘party room’ or section of the restaurant that is ‘away’ from other guests that are dining there, there’s no reason to disturb anyone that is trying to enjoy their dinner. Since this happened to me, several friends told me the same thing happened to them at times while they were dining out. I’ve had many e-mails I've answered from my readers asking me what to do when someone is answering their cell phones while on a date. This is a similar situation. Taking pictures with total disregard to other’s surrounding you is very inappropriate. Myself, I don’t mind if someone takes photos at a party, an event or a concert. There is a time and place for picture taking. Everything is so different nowadays. I don’t know what anyone did before there were cell phones and digital cameras. It took me a long time to get used to CD’s instead of vinyl. It took me awhile to get used to DVD’s instead of VCR’s. I do miss the old days. I’d love to hear from my readers about this topic.

This was my first date with a guy I met at a jazz class in my late twenties. He invited me to dinner at a restaurant he never went to before. The waitress brought the salad. He loved the way the salad was presented. He had a camera, he took a photo. The steak and vegetables arrived. He took a photo. My dinner was a chicken sandwich and fries. He took a photo! I couldn't eat from watching this. The dessert arrived- he was so excited about the piece of cake, and ice cream that surrounded it- he took a photo of it! He even took photos of the trays of food the waitress brought to other guests of the restaurant. After dinner, he said he thought the food was great and wondered what he could take a picture of NEXT. I asked if he ever took a photo of someone leaving a restaurant? He said, “Nope, Never did.” I stood up to walk toward the exit and said,“Goodbye..”  Snap Snap Snap.

Until next time.. 'Keep Smiling!'

Debbie Sue 

www.stillsingle.org

Send comments & Questions to: debrasue-60076@msn.com

Visit Debbie & her friends on January 19th for 'An Evening of Comedy & Spoken Word' at Perla Cafe' 1813 Dempster St. in Evanston. 7:30 pm.