DECORATIVE FABRIC AND WALLPAPER

We're NEW...
We're DIFFERENT...
and
We Sell ONLY
1ST QUALITY
decorative fabrics
at everyday
LOW PRICES!

•,1 .•;- ■ X

Ip

is that they're just for
losers," she said. "But every
week, my husband and I see
more and more personals.
There's obviously a need out
there. People are just not
meeting each other like they
used to."
Since August, The Jewish
News has published 178 ads
from singles in the metro
Detroit area. Other Jewish
weeklies, like The Jewish
News' sister papers, the
Atlanta Jewish Times and
the Baltimore Jewish Times,
report similar numbers.
The Atlanta Jewish Times
has had 2,000 responses
since the People Connector-
Voice Connector began a
year ago. The Baltimore
Jewish Times reports 6,100
responses.
Jewish News Associate
Publisher Arthur Horwitz
said the year-old component
of voice mail is more of a
community service than a
revenue producing feature.
Overall charges to respond
and check on messages are
95 cents a minute. AT&T
gets the biggest chunk, then
Microvoice, then The Jewish
News, Mr. Horwitz said.
"We realized that more
and more people's lives were
such that communicating
only with the written word
was not necessarily the best
option," Mr. Horwitz said.
"This society has more and
more people living around
the telephone and other elec-
tronic gadgetry. This was an

Come in and view our dramatic displays:
We have a fabric just for you, for all your
decorating needs. And if you like, we'll
follow through and recover your furniture,
create your special window and bed
treatments ... and much more.

You'll be pleased with our service,
selection and quality.

FABRIQUE
750 S. Woodward Ave.
Birmingham, MI 644-6505

Also: 5834 Monroe St., Sylvania, OH 419-882-1882

Lynn and Richard Sundheimer met through
The Jewish News.

opportunity for singles in
our community to join in a
growing list of other singles
looking to communicate this
way."
"You have nothing to lose
but being alone," said Mr.
Alpiner, 41, a lawyer in
Southfield with Blue Cross
and Blue Shield. "I think
personals are the wave of the
future. People serious about
finding someone don't have
the time to sit around
waiting."
Mrs. Alpiner said she at-
tended all the typical singles
events: dances, fund-raisers,
trips.
"My family and friends
were beginning to give up
hope," she said. "I was look-
ing for a man who was sen-
sitive and would be in for the
long haul. Then I saw Bob's
ad."
Mr. Alpiner was looking
for someone to share his pas-
sion for the theater, dining
out and sports.

Robert Alpiner still has Dianne's response
to his ad.

"I don't think it's right to
judge people based on
looks," Mrs. Alpiner said,
"especially with having
never met them before. Like,
I hate ads that read,
`Looking for someone
slender of substance.' "
Mr. Alpiner said he was
interested in how women
represented themselves in
print.
"People don't write
anymore. It's becoming a
lost art," he said. "I was
looking for a certain type of
respondent — someone with
education and culture. If the
grammar is in error or they
can't put a sentence
together, that person wasn't
for me.
"I think the process of re-
sponding to an ad is analo-
gous to going to a job inter-
view," he said. "You should
be honest, but you want to
make the best sort of im-
pression."
The Alpiners decided to
meet for coffee at a nearby
Big Boy. One date led to an-
other, and three months
later they were engaged.
"Once we got to know each
other, it didn't make sense to
wait," Mrs. Alpiner said. "I
waited for the right person,
and if I didn't find the right
one I'd probably be divorced
by now."
"It was a big shock to my
co-workers, who only knew
me for 16 years as a bache-
lor," Mr. Alpiner said. "But
people were really surprised
that we met through the
personals. I never had any
reservations about it. We
wanted to tell our story so
others will be encouraged to
go ahead and take a
chance."
"I'm glad I did," Mrs.
Alpiner said. ❑

MB JEWELRYSIGN & MFG. LTD.

Applegate SqUei:4 29847 Northwestern Hwy.
Southfield, Mkhigan 48034 • (313) 356-7007

CAPTURE YOUR FINEST MOMENT WITH...

ILIEC

Vo t

MASTER OF

tr

352-7030

CLOSED MONDAYS • PASSPORT PHOTOS WHILE YOU WAIT

26571 W. TWELVE MILE RD. AT NORTHWESTERN HWY.

When only the best will do...

Delf,444'4

ifvo44-U0444,

Seventeen Wonderful Years of Experience
From the kaditional to the "Glitz"

• Weddings

• Showers
• Sweet 16s
• CALLIGRAPHY • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs • HEBREW CALLIGRAPHY

25% OFF

WITH THIS AD

Debbie Goldfine Weisserman
(313)569.9792 • Tower 14, Southfield

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

87