Hi, All! I once knew a non-Jewish Armenian co-worker from the town of Abadan, Iran. He told me a story about a little Jewish guy in Abadan who went around to jewelry merchants and volunteered to sweep up the dust off the floor of their shops. The dust was full of all sorts of gold shavings and bits and pieces of other precious metals and gems. This Jewish guy would collect all the dust and then extract the gold particles and other precious materials for resale, and he was so successful that he became quite wealthy--maybe even the wealthiest man in town. Whether the story is true or not, it metaphorically illustrates the resourcefulness of the Jewish people--especially in seeing an opportunity where nobody else cares to look. Brian Neil Burg Fullerton, CA, USA Researching: BARNETT, SANDLER, TELZONSKY & MYERS from Swansea, Wales; KABAKOFF & PORTNOI from Dokshitsy and nearby shtetlach (Minsk Gub.); CHAJKIELSON, GOLUBSKI, TYLZANSKI, & KRZYWULSKI f/Suwalki, Marijampole, Szaki and neighboring shtetlach and WASZKIEWICZ f/Widugieri (Suwalki Gub.); BAILIN & RIKLIN from Klintsy & Surazh (Chernigov Gub.); BURG, KLEIN/KLEINER, ZUCKERKANDEL f/Sasov & Podkamen (Austria, now Ukr.); CHARATZ and BIK from Staraya Sinyava & Khmielnik (Podolsk Gub.); FRYDMAN, GUTMAN, JASKULKA & JASTRZAB f/Sokolow Podlaski, Wegrow, & Sterdyn (Siedlce Gub.) & FRYDMAN later from Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a message dated 9/20/2008 1:54:34 AM Pacific Daylight Time, Angellza@aol.com writes: >When I read about Abrahams the "fish curer" I was reminded of Morris Abrahams ( b 1844) who was married to an Anna Solomons. When their daughter Marie Therese was married in 1892 Morris was described in the second edition in The Era as a "dust collector" but he was in fact a diamond < Need not have been a joke. Dust Collecting could be very profitable - The will which is the basis of the plor in Dickens' Our Mutual Friend' was made by just such a person and the man who inherited it became known as The Golden Dustman Angela **************Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and calculators. (http://www.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001)