Independent Living with Assisted Services OPEN HOUSE This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 12-6 pm Join us for a tour and refreshments • Luxurious one and two bedroom four rounds of the Bee before missing on the word "banns. From the pained look on his face and four minutes of hemming and hawing as he is gently encouraged by Bee officials awaiting his answer, it is clear the Jewish speller does not know that, according to Webster's, it's a word meaning "a public announcement especially in church of proposed mar- riage." In the movie, Harry's mom later jokes that if a kid from Texas had got- ten stuck with a Yiddish word, it would have been all over for that poor speller, too. Yes, "banns" is a pretty out-of-the- way word, especially for a boy from Glen Rock, N.J., who claims he barely studied at all. "I didn't really have a study system," says Altman in an unusual admission that sets him apart from the other spellers in the movie, all of whom spend hours a day studying arcane bits of language. But judging from his performance on the Bee stage and in later interviews with the documentary team at home, it's hard to imagine Altman sitting still for more than five seconds in a row. His approach to spelling is engaging: bits of mumbled advice to himself, jokes with the judges — all sort of jit- tery but with no nerves in sight. Director Blitz was so taken with Altman that he decided on the spot to put him in the movie; the other seven contestants had been staked out long beforehand. It was actually his bar mitzvah that Altman claims kept him from three- peating as a New Jersey regional cham- pion. (Altman says his party had no theme, laughing when it's suggested he should have chosen dictionaries.) "It kept me really busy," he says of the rite-of-passage, leaving him little time to do even the small amount of studying he says he'd done the year before to advance to the Bee in D.C. He returned to the national stage after a one-year, Haftorah-laden hiatus. Nowadays, Altman keeps his dis- tance from spelling, working more with computers and participating in math competitions for the magnet high school he attends in Bergen County, N.J. "I'm not very good in English," he admits. Can anybody spell "irony"? apartment homes with full kitchens • Full dining service available • 74-seat movie theatre • Beauty salon and gift shop " ❑ Spellbound, rated G, opens Friday, May 30, at the Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield Township. (248) 542-0180. • Emergency call system • Courtesy transportation • On-site 24-hour care giving staff • On and off-site social activities • So much more! NO ENTRANCE FEES WALTO\WODD (248) 735-1500 Fax: (248) 735-150 I www.waltonwood.com AT TWELVE OAKS Redefining Retirement Living WALTONWOOD SERVICES L.L.C. 27475 Huron Circle, Novi, Ml 48377 Located in Novi adjacent to Twelve Oaks Mall email: waltonwoodtwelveoaks@singhmail.com JN2003 IrN ONG HU4 FINE CHINESE DINING 9puttite,s, Tau/ T0/ 'A wonderful adventure in fine dining" — Danny Raskin Featuring Gourmet Oriental Cuisine Excellent Lunch and Dinner Selections 7 Days a Week I I a.m.- Midnight Complete Menu Carryout • Gift Certificates Available • We Cater To Private Parties 4,,,<, „ma- , ..& ,--. L . -,, .4, „ .. 27925 Orchard Lake Road, north of 12 Mile • Farmington Hills 248.489.2280 FOR ************************************************************ -3( -it ILAN RAMON "I call upon every Jew in the world to plant a tree in the land of Israel dur- ing the coming year. I would like to see 13 or 14 million new trees plant- ed in Israel exactly one year from now, on the anniversary of the launching." —Ilan Ramon a a To plant a tree in Israel in honor of Ilan Ramon and his fellow astronauts, go to Party Trays & Catering 9' 9' Service Available Order Today A Little Bit Of New York Right Here In Bloomfield Hills www. jewish.com . Click on Donations to Israel. GRADUATION PARTIES FABULOUS Delivery 9' 6646 Telegraph at Maple • Bloomfield Plaza • 248.932-0800' • 9' 1 ************************************************************ RiN 5/30 2003 75