"Mister, you come, mister, gems, sell, European, mister, sell to you," the Arab boy calls to the foreigner wearing the tan safari suit and hat. "Mister, good deal, you." The foreigner hesitates, then, follows the boy down the darkened steps of the Suq. From: SYRIANS AND OTHER ABNORMAL GENTLEFOLK.. "Yep, had lot of jobs before I went into the retail trade," Charley Rashidi tells it. "I was in the Merchant Marines out of New York Harbor during the world war where I was in charge of purchasing much of the supplies for our boys overseas. Really ran the day-to-day operations of the base. Got to know everybody and everybody got to know me." "A bullshit artist, that's my brother, Charley," that is what Zaki would always say about him behind his back. "Makes a big deal about being in the Merchant Marine, which was never much of anything. Only joined to keep out of the draft. Makes me laugh, too, because I joined the army right off and fought throughout Europe while he stayed home as a little file clerk. But, ask Charley, and he'll tell you he was personally responsible for America winning the war." From: CHARLEY RASHIDI.. Sarah and Abraham (Abe) Klein lived ordinary lives for most of their existence. There were the ups and downs, money troubles, sickness, and disappointments, but nothing uncommon. It changed in their golden years. They'd become wards of the court, so to speak, or, better said, pawns in the struggle between their daughter, Abigail and son-in-law, Zaki. In the process, they'd lose their freedom and their lives. Supported financially by their daughter, and living under her roof, they became the subjects of pity. They also became defenseless in the face of attack by their son-in-law. From: PEACEFUL LIVES STRETCHED TO THE END.. So begins three of Elias Sassoon's stories in The Sassoon Society.