C o mmun ity

Mazel Toy!

One great ad
becomes the icing
on the cake.

Are you perfect? Me neither.
Divorced? Me too.
Enjoy kids? Me too.
Stupid? Superficial? Me neither.
Looking for someone to share
laughter, long talks, linguine,
liturgy or love? Me too!

DEBRA B. DARVICK

Jeffrey August and Kelli Raff

Special to the Jewish News •

N

, arrived from Oregon with her young
son and having a difficult time meeting
other Jewish singles, Kelli Kolin Raff
placed an advertisement in the Jewish
News' Jewish Connector.
"I had read all the ads," Kelli says, "and it
seemed like people were ordering a doll or some-
thing. 'Gorgeous, petite, athletic.' Who are these
super people? What about regular people? I'd
never done anything like this before, but I
thought, 'OK, I'll take a risk.'"
After the ad's third week, Jeffrey August, a man
who loves laughter, long talks and linguine (he's a
chef at Streetside Seafood in Birmingham and
Beverly Hills Grill), left a message on Kelli's
machine inviting her to dinner.
"I had received three or four responses a week,"
Kelli remembers, "but when I heard Jeffrey's
voice, I thought to myself, 'This is a live one.'
There was a softness, a genuineness in Phis voice,

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something that told me he's the one.
"Call it woman's intuition. I was so nervous I
didn't call him for a week."
When Kelli didn't call, Jeffrey thought "it
would be like all the others. I'd never placed an ad
myself, but had responded to a few. No one ever
called me back.
"Kelli's ad was different. I didn't understand a
few of her words. Like 'liturgy.' But the ad got my
interest up."
Once Kelli called back, Jeffrey insisted on taking
her out to dinner, instead of the run-of-the-mill
meeting for a quick cup of coffee. After that first
date, during which Kelli says she couldn't stop smil-
ing, the two were on the phone nearly the minute
they got home to arrange date number two.
So sure was Kelli that Jeffrey was the one that
she introduced him to her 8-year-old son
Alexander on their second date. "I had no doubt
how Jeffrey would be towards my son. He's just so

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easygoing. He's in Dad Training 101 right now."
Instant fatherhood has come as a pleasant sur-
prise to Jeffrey. He's realizing that "a lot of things
my dad taught me still work with kids today. Alex
and I have a good relationship, but there's a lot of
testing going on. There are some things a mom
just can't teach her son. I am ready to be there for
Alexander."
Alexander will walk his mother down the aisle
because Kelli's father passed away two years ago.
Kelli is looking forward to the June wedding for all
the obvious reasons and more. "My first husband
wasn't Jewish; we were married by a priest and a
rabbi. I'm getting it right his time, beneath a
chuppa, in a synagogue." The Temple Beth El wed-
ding and reception will be "low-key and full of kids
— lots of cousins and extended family. It's going to
be a great family reunion," Kelli says.
The centerpiece of the reception — the wedding
cake — will be just as creative as Kelli's ad. Instead
of the traditional tiered affair, the cake will be deco-
rated to look like the Jewish Connector page —
black and white and iced all over. ❑

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