A Date Or Non Date Between Friends

When is it ok to even refer to a "meeting" with a friend of the opposite sex as a non "date" or should the "D" word not enter into the discussion at all? I have always reserved the "D" word for instances when the relationships were strictly non-PLATONIC but I am willing to concede that this is perhaps an archaic opinion that needs modernizing so that I may remain current. If asked on a "non date" I am likely to have misgivings and this is probably not the best way to be. I should be able to graciously accept it for what I am told it is and nothng more right? What probably holds me back is the sheer number of years of Mom's daughter to daughter talks about dating that span from the boys to men era during which she never wavered in her conviction that "there is no such thing as a male friend"! Try as I may. I cannot shed the lessons taught through Mom's unique brand of brainwashing so although I'd like to say that I am amenable to change, I suppose that in the end some things cannot be shifted about. It is not as if I fear the torpedoes of wrath should I waffle, it is simply that I fear the impending PLAGUE that is sure to befall me should I stray from the "straight and narrow".