owes
e Bride

DARCIE LUNSFORD SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

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Jewish
retirees
prove
you're
never too
old for
love.

PHOTO BY DANIEL LIPPITT

•

Dorothy is
the "apple" of
Rubin Weiss' eye.

iY

ubin Weiss feels like a 19-year-old trapped
in a 77-year-old body. Dorothy Apple feels
like she's in the driver's seat of life again.
And because of the way these two feel —
about each other — there'll soon be a vacan-
cy at the Hechtman Federation Apartments
in West Bloomfield. After a whirlwind ro-
mance, Rubin and Dorothy plan to tie the
knot on May 18.
Their love story began last summer. Ru-
bin was president of the retirement commu-
nity's Residents Council. Dorothy was a
councilwoman. The two joined forces to so-
licit donations for the annual Jewish Feder-
ation fund-raiser. That's when the love bug
bit — at least for 81-year-old Dorothy.
It took Rubin a little longer to realize he
had fallen for this silver-haired beauty with
a charming smile and hearty laugh.
"My love for Dorothy gradually grew on
me. I didn't even know it was happening,"
Rubin recalled.

Thankfully, Dorothy isn't a patient woman.
"I proposed to him, you know," Dorothy
said. "I said I didn't want to wait. Life is too
short."
The two got engaged last month. This will
be a second marriage for both.
And while the two at times act like star-
grossed lovers, neither has unrealistic ex-
pectations about what a second whirl around
the matrimonial dance floor will be like.
"We know what it is all about, and we are
not looking for pie in the sky," Rubin said,
taking a long sip from the steaming mug of
coffee Dorothy just handed him.
All around Dorothy's one-bedroom apart-
ment, frozen images from her past dot the
walls and line shelves.
Once wed, the two will move upstairs to
Rubin's apartment and begin consolidating
the memorabilia of two separate lives.
It's something both are looking forward to.
"My apartment needs a woman's touch,"

Rubin said. "It's strictly a bachelor's pad."
As for Dorothy, the idea of having a hus-
band again is an exciting one. Her husband
of 60 years, Harry, died two years ago.
Rubin's wife of 43-years, Lorraine, died in
1992. Neither had expected to find a soul
mate when they moved into the 200-unit
Hechtman complex a few years ago.
"I was ready to crawl in a hole and say,
`Leave me alone,' " said Rubin, who retired
from General Motors in 1987. "All my life I
was an introvert, until I came here."
Rubin said it was Dorothy's sweet nature
that helped lure him out of his shell and down
the aisle again.
For Dorothy, it was Rubin's kindness that
made her want to take the plunge again.
"As they, say in Hebrew, 'I am my beloved's
and my beloved is mine,' " Rubin said, sum-
ming up their relationship. The newlyweds
plan to honeymoon in Las Vegas. ❑