Pre-Playdate Check List: Car Seat? Dogs? Benelli M2 Tactical Shotgun?

The Mommy Files. What an odd name for a website. It reminds me of The IPCRESS File: the Michael Caine spy movie based on a Len Deighton novel, directed by Sidney J. Furie. Not to be confused with TTAG’s new, L.A.-based movie reviewer, Robert Fure. Or Stanley Ipkiss, The Mask’s alter ego. Or is that the other way around? Anyway, let’s file this one under GOWIA (Get On With It Already). I mean, if you want to know if playdate parents have guns in the house, ask. OK? Of course, that would make for an extremely short column, without any of the pathos/bathos for which Mommy bloggers are known (along with their tendency to blag freebies). Sorry, but this has to be done. “How in the world do you bring up a topic like this — in between your conversation about the holistic vet you’re using for your cat and about the quality of the seafood at Whole Foods? ASK [ED: awareness campaign by PAX] recommends that you include the question along with other things you might normally discuss before sending your child to someone’s house — such as seat belts, animals, or allergies. And you try to not be confrontational. Present your concerns in a respectful manner. You are simply trying to make sure your child is in a safe environment. I still don’t think I could do this, and I’m still assuming that my children’s friends aren’t gun owners. Am I naive?” Where do I start? Oh wait; I already have. Carry on then.