No One In Town But Big George's Home Appliance Mart Carries Familiar Faces, Strange Places A native Detroiter spots past dates in The DJN engagements, weddings and births sections. LIZ LIWAZER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS /— U /- /- - / - /-z \_Th /-- pon receiving The Jewish News, I, like many of my contemporaries, both at- tached and still looking, turn immediately to the Mile- stones section. Sometimes, it can sting. Re- cently, I had the honor (horror?) of seeing engagement, wedding and birth announcements placed by guys I have dated or their sig- nificant others — all in one issue. Although each was originally from a different part of the coun- try, he still ended up in this news- paper, hitched to one of Detroit's finest. For this 31-year-old SJF, the reality has been an endless stream of being fixed up by friends, their third cousins and the people those relatives knew in high school. Since moving to Chicago from suburban Detroit more than seven years ago, the "blind date well" has rarely run dry. I have been fixed up by peo- ple who barely knew me but felt in their bones that I would fall madly in love with their son, nephew or ex-boyfriend. . Working for a time at the Jew- ish Federation of Chicago got the ball rolling even before the ink on my new business cards was dry. Office rivalry took on a new level of intensity when it came to guid- ing a young, (apparently) attrac- tive woman's future (See? I've started talking like a personal ad). "Who cares if you have similar interests when you could be spared from spinsterhood and guaranteed a life of wedded bliss." Or, "So what if the secre- tary from accounting only met his mother once in the grocery store? She seems like a nice woman — you know they can't prove all mental illness will be inherited by the first-born son." And never mind my passion for travel — "He's been to Epcot Center ..." That recent edition of The Jew- ish News brought back memories I had suppressed since the oblig- atory blow-by-blow recounting of details: Former bachelor No. 1 was the ex-boyfriend of my roommate from University of Michigan. His name recently popped up in The DJN births column, announcing the arrival of his second child. "David" (names have been Liz Liwazer lives in Chicago and has successfully avoided being set up for the past 18 months. SONY XBR Series Television ■ 53" HIGH CONTRAST PROTECTED SCREEN ■ 3-D TECHNOLOGY ■ ADVANCED DUAL PICTURE-IN-PICTURE changed to protect the incom- patible) seemed to possess an in- creasingly important quality — a good sense of humor. Our brief phone conversations went pret- ty well because I kind of thought he was sort of funny. He thought he was funny, too. David produced a "Blind Date Fact Sheet" from his pocket with- in 35 seconds of identifying each other. This fun-filled fact sheet listed his physical characteris- tics, likes, dislikes and an as- sortment of other personal facts. Very clever. If you're 13. We had an OK time; I could see how this guy would be a col- lege boyfriend, but not fodder for an adult relationship. I thought I might see him again — first dates, especially the blind kind, tend not to be the most relaxing of situations. With- in three weeks, I got a call from the instigator of this date. David was engaged. "Alex," former bachelor No. 2, smiled smugly beside his blush- ing new bride, their photo of bliss appearing in The DJN weddings. Being fixed up with Alex made me wonder about probabilities and statistics. What are the chances of getting fixed up with the same person twice? Certain- ly it can occur. But three times? First, a co-worker told me her brother's best friend Alex was moving to Chicago from Wash- ington, D.C. Two weeks later, a friend called to say her friend's sister's friend, Alex, was moving to Chicago, ready for a fix-up. Turns out, Alex had a thing for the co-worker. Not an innocent crush, but hard-core affection, borderline obsession. Unfortu- nately for him, the feeling was not mutual. Hearing about Alex's unre- quited love for my co-worker wasn't exactly what I had in mind for a first date. Add to that the fact that my co-worker was dating Alex's cousin. Alex's con- sistent claims that his cousin didn't know what a gem he had continued through dessert until my date passionately proclaimed that he would worship Amy — if she would just give him a chance. Well, none of these guys may have been my Prince Charming, but at least they found some magic elsewhere. Oh, look — an- other familiar face in the en- gagements section — I can't go into details now. I have a date. O ■ WIRELESS HEADPHONE ■ 80 WATTS DOLBY SURROUND, WITH REAR SPEAKERS ■ UNIVERSAL REMOTE CONTROL ■ ALSO AVAILABLE IN 27^, 32" & 61" SCREENS (CONSOLE AVAILABLE) SONY 9 AL NOME APPLIANCE ) MART Interest Free Financing Available • Installation of Built-In Appliances Available • Removal of Old Appliance • • Delivery, Placement and Set-Up of New Appliances • • Friendly and Knowledgeable Sales Consultants • • 33086 Northwestern Hwy. • West Bloomfield • 810-932-0870 Ann Arbor • 2019 W. Stadium Blvd. Phone: (313) 669-9500 • Okemos • 1802 W. Grand River Ave. Phone (313) 349-2000 HOURS: Mon. & Thur. 10-9, Tue., Wed., Fri. & Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-5 *For qualified buyers, see store for details, minimum purchase required. Wishing you Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for Passover Thank you for your valued business from myself and Harvey Lexus. David Hamlett David Hamlett of Harvey Lexus has achieved the honor of being one of 12% of Lexus consultants nationwide named as a Certified Sales Consultant. This title is awarded by providing consistent customer satisfaction and attaining sales goals. 11-1FIFRN/Elr OF GFIFIrlIED RAPIDS Fax Number (517) 669-1171 Mid-Michigan Home Office: 1-800-974-9550