ua l l sr

morons

strangers in the safety of their own
home and without the threat of
stalking episodes. You can surf the
Web and chat to your heart's con-
tent without revealing too much
personal stuff. On the flip side,
though, you never know whether the
person on the other end of the
cyber-universe is being truth-
ful. She says she's five-
three, 100 pounds,
drop-dead gorgeous
and brilliant?
Maybe.
And then again,
maybe not.
Still, I have dated a
Ifew men that I met on
the Internet. They have all
been very nice, and I highly
/ recommend it. Of course,
you need to be as careful
with the Internet (probably
even more so) as you would be
with any personal ad meeting.
You know the drill: Meet in a
public place, don't give them your
address or last name right
off the bat, and so

+►

Ole

on.

Surfing the
singles sites
on the Web
beats moaning
over how
lonely you are.

DEBBIE ISRAEL
Special to The Jewish News

Highland Park, N.J.
ne of my mother's first
cousins recently got mar:-
tied. This would not be a
terribly momentous occa-
sion if it weren't for ohe slight little
detail. He was in his 50s and never
married.
When my mom told me he was
getting married, I was blown away.
"She's a very nice girl," Mom said.
"She lives in Montreal, •and he's
going to move there to live with
her." Very nice.

Debbie Israel lives in New Brunswick,
N.J. and writes for the Jewish State, a
weekly newspaper covering central New
Jersey.

And then
she added:
"They met
on the
Internet."
For all of the single
people out there who have friends
and relatives urging you to "get out,
you'll never meet anyone in your
own home," you now have a '90s
reply.
"Sure I will," you can say. "I've
already met some nice new people
on the Internet." Silence will likely
follow.
The Internet remains an intrigu-
ing, and terrifying, venue for singles
to flirt with the idea of meeting

But the
Internet
gives peo-
ple the
opportunity to
meet a wide range of
Jewish singles that they wouldn't
otherwise meet. People who live in
other states. Professionals who don't
have time. Single parents who don't
have a babysitter.
Even if you don't want to or can't
move to another part of the country,
you might meet someone wonderful
who is willing to move.
I have some friends who met over
the Internet. For a couple of years,
he lived in New York, and she lived
in Indiana. They saw each other
every few months when business
took her to New York, or he could
get some time off to visit the
Midwest. Today, they are happily
married and living in New Jersey.
If you are on AOL (America On
Line), you can access Jewish singles'
chat rooms. I personally found the

10/9

1998

Detroit Jewish News

109