As an economist and business consultant, my mind recognized a challenge; I told Ari that I would think about this matter and call him at the Israeli Consulate in New York. The following week, I called Ari to suggest that blocks of the former Berlin Wall be acquired by whatever means was necessary, then divided into pieces in several sizes but each containing at least part of a à � ? ��...?freedom graffitià � ? � � as I called them, and that each piece be marketed in a plastic container with a tombstone-shaped cardboard placard inserted
which would read: The Berlin Wall: 1961-1989. Rest in pieces!
Ari said that this seemed like a good idea and a viable proposal, which he would share with his fellow entrepreneurs in Germany. I did not hear anything further for some time; Ari returned to Israel, and, I later learned, again to Germany to meet with his associates.
One day in the Spring of 1990, a mysterious package came in the mail to my office. We had a procedure for dealing with suspicious packages; we took them to the local police station which then decided whether or not they required à � ? ��...?special handlingà � ? � � from the bomb squad. In this case, however, I recognized the name in the return address; it was from my friend Ari and had been mailed from Jerusalem, so I considered it safe to open.
Inside the package was a very brief note from Ari, which simple stated: We took your idea. Here is a sample. Attached to the note was a small piece of the infamous Berlin Wall, complete with a black-and-white graffiti which looked a bit like a peace symbol. The cardboard enclosed with the sample was not tombstone-shaped, but had the same message as I had suggested above . I have to confess to becoming choked up upon seeing that little piece of history, and realizing that, sometimes, the good guys win after all.
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