F

Mazel Toy!

Jewish Geography

Game allows school friends to reunite as adults.

Leonard Poger
I Copy Editor

ometimes, young singles
can benefit from playing
the game of "Jewish
geography," in which friends ask
about old contacts and what hap-
pened to them.
It was during such a game 21
years ago that Laurie Brown.
crossed paths with a sister of
Michael Gonte's roommate.
In the conversation, Mike's
name popped up. He was a close
friend of Laurie after they met in
1974 while classmates in a
Thompson Junior High School art
course in Southfield.
At the tender age of 14, they
became fast friends, talking on the
phone frequently after school; and
Mike rode his Moped to her
home.
But the friendship was put on

S

Nov. 29
Jennifer Cohen and Gregory
Bloom of Birmingham are
thrilled to announce the birth of
their son, Nathaniel Asher.
Welcoming him home is his big
sister Olivia, 18 months. Sharing
in their joy are proud grandpar-
ents Annie and Rob Cohen of
Bloomfield Hills and Adrienne
and Norman Bloom of Atlanta,
Ga. Delighted great-grandparents
are Bobbie Miller of Southfield,
Shirley and Max Wayburn of
Bingham Farms and Rose
Norton of London, England.

Oct. 20
Jennifer (Levin) and Ryan
Golding of Chicago are so excited
to announce the birth of their
daughter, Jordyn Mia. Very
proud grandparents are Denise
and Bobby Levin of Orchard
Lake and Lynne and David
Golding of Northbrook, Ill. Also
sharing in their joy are great-
grandparents Aubry and Devora
Smith, Alice Levin and Gerald

58

January 5 • 2006

hold when Mike went off to
Southfield High and Laurie
attended Southfield-Lathrup
High.
Years later, after Mike moved
into Franklin Park Towers in
Southfield,"Laurie bumped into
my roommate's sister and they
started playing Jewish geography
and my name came up',' said
Mike.
"It was close to my birthday,
which she remembered because
we were born 15 days apart. So
after not seeing each other for a
decade, she decided on a whim to
call me."
"Hi, guess who this is?" she
asked him.
Mike didn't know and "was feel-
ing a little impatient while she was
coaxing me to guess. "Suddenly,
the phone went dead. While I was
thinking that I might not ever

know who it was, Laurie was
thinking that I rudely hung up on
her?'
Laurie debated what to do, but
decided to call back.
"On the second call," Michael
said, "she quickly identified herself
and after some conversation, she
offered to take me out for a birth-
day drink. I stumbled and told her
that I had dinner plans with my
family. Fortunately, she suggested
that we make plans for another
night. -
"But when she saw the diner we
were headed for, she wasn't partic-
ularly impressed with my choice
for a first date and only ordered a
coffee?'
Laurie was more blunt: "I
couldn't believe it," she recalled. It
was "a hamburger joint. We
walked through vinyl vertical
blinds. The owner-cook knew him

Sussman. Her ecstatic great-
great-grandmother is Sonia
Glaser. She is also the grand-
daughter of the late Maurice
Levin and the late Judy Sussman.
Jordyn is named in loving mem-
ory of her maternal great-grand-
father Maurice Levin.

Jackie Fruitman Cohen and Art
Cohen of Cupertino, Calif., are
happy to announce the May 22,
2005, adoption
of their son
Gregory
Zimin
(Gershon),
born May 22,
2004, and the
Gregory
birth of their
son Natan
Philip (Natan
Peleh), born
Oct. 6, 2005.
Excited grand-
, parents are
Ron and Ilene
Fruitman of
Natan
Farmington
Hills and Barney and Hermia
Cohen of Philadelphia. Zimin
and Natan are named in loving

April 8
Erica (Ellman) and Tal Izraeli of
Chicago welcome with love the
birth of their son, Zachary
Marc (Nachum David). Sharing
in their excitement are proud
grandparents Peggy and Harry
Ellman of Bloomfield Hills and
Elana and Oded Izraeli of
Rochester Hills. Happy great-
grandparents are Donald Barris
of Bingham Farms, Bluma and
Irving Ellman of West
Bloomfield and Aliza Izraeli of
Jerusalem. Zachary is named in
loving memory of his maternal
great-grandmother Miriam
Barris and his paternal great-
grandfather Nachum Izraeli.

Laurie and Michael Gonte

by name and Mike talked to her
more than me."
Clearly, Laurie wasn't impressed
by the first date. But she did agree
to give him another chance and
they had a romantic dinner at a
downtown Detroit restaurant a
week later.
"Our second chance at love
could have easily ended at that
diner',' Michael said, "but we had
the chance for a long talk and she
realized it is not where you go, but
who you are with. The spark was
back.
"By the third date, there was no
looking back; and I knew that it

memory of great-grandfathers
Gordon Fruitman and Phillip
Cohen.

- Zachary Samuel Blumstein will
read from the Torah Saturday,
Jan. 7, at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek
Southfield. He
is the son of
Linda and
Gershon
Blumstein and
brother of
Dodi, Jordan
Blumstein
and Danielle.
Sharing in the
simchah will
be his grandfather David Levine.
He is also the grandchild of the
late Evelyn Levine, the late Diana
and the late Mannes Blumstein.

was just a matter of time before
we got married?'
They did — nearly two years
later. The wedding was Dec. 21,
1986, at Temple Emanu-El, Oak
Park. Now, both are 45 years old
and the parents of two teenage
daughters. Last month, the
Gontes, now of Farmington
Hills, celebrated their 19th
anniversary.
On a family trip to Israel last
summer, Mike heard others on
the tour talking about their her-
itage. Some traced their roots for
many generations back to small
villages in Russia or Poland.
"Being adopted, I only trace
my family roots back three
decades to Southfield," he said.
"But even though I don't have
access to my family history,
Laurie and I have created a lov-
ing legacy for our kids?'

❑

Zach attends Orchard Lake
Middle School in West Bloom-
field. One of his most meaning-
ful mitzvah projects was volun-
teering at the Friendship Circle.

Rachel Dina Klein will be called
to the Torah Saturday, Jan. 7, at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
Southfield.
She is the
daughter of
Susan and
Jeffrey Klein
and sister of
Joey. Proud
grandparents
are Pearl and
Klein
Larry Klein
and Pearl
Kozik. She is also the grand-
daughter of the late Shimon
Kozik.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

In an attempt to keep the notices that mark youth on their path to maturity meaningful yet brief, we have
decided to change the items to include.
We have eliminated the reference to the school "honor" rankings because it differs from school to school.
Since mitzvah projects have increased, we ask that only one be selectd to be representative of tzedakah.
Thank you for your adherence to these changes.