ANDREA SEABROOK, host:
Time now for your homework. Last week, as the world around us started turning that schlocky shade of Valentine's pink, we decided we wanted to hear about your dating disasters. We got lots of e-mails, and we've selected a few. So here it is. The bad date in three acts.
(Soundbite of music)
SEABROOK: Act one, it's in the asking. Listener Tim Handle answered the phone one Friday afternoon. His co-worker Karen was on the other line and sounded desperate. Tim, I really need your help. You're my last hope.
Karen had two tickets to a Bob Dylan show that night. Her date had bailed. She told Tim that she had asked everyone at work and no one could go. Then Karen made matters even worse. Just before she hung up the phone she asked, Oh, and could you pay for one of those tickets?
Act two, dating with a double D. Your blind date brings along another woman, a striper recovering from implant surgery. That happened to Aura Roseberry of Wichita, Kansas.
Act three, Dutch this. Listener Jolene Livingood(ph) and her date agreed in advance to split the dinner bill. They were students short on cash. But frugality, Jolene learned, has its limits. The guy ordered a glass of water and an egg roll, and then filled his belly by mooching off her plate of Kung Pao Chicken.
Jolene hoped the night would take a turn for the better when her date suggested they go to an improv show, maybe humor could save this date. But when they arrived at the club, Jolene's date took to the stage. Surprise! He'd been taking improv classes with this so-called comedy troupe. In Jolene Livingood's words, it was hideous. Her timing was perfect, however. She escaped before the curtain fell.
Now, go grab a pen and paper, because our homework assignment for next week is a little different. We're going to play radio Mad Libs. We have a script already written with some key words missing and we need you to fill in the blanks.
So here are the words we need: an adverb, a verb, a noun and an adjective. Let me say that again: an adverb, a verb, a noun and an adjective. Then pick an animal and a number. In the end, you should have a list of six words. E-mail them to homework at npr.org.
Copyright © 2008 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.