Word: ben
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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When I first met Ben Ali, neither one of us knew we were going to become famous. It was 1958, and he had just opened Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington, where he sold hot dogs, burgers and half-smokes. I didn't know what he put in those sausages, but I knew they were good. Back then there were quite a few black-owned restaurants, but Ben, who died Oct. 7 at 82, knew how to make his customers feel comfortable. During the riots in 1968, there were only two places in Washington that didn't get touched...
...visited D.C.--even after I started going to tuxedo galas and $200-a-plate dinners--I'd go get three half-smokes with mustard and raw onions, thank you very much. One day, my driver returned with the same amount of money I had given him. He told me Ben and his wife Virginia (below) had refused to let him pay. They told him, "Bill Cosby eats for free." I tried again the next time I was in town, but Virginia recognized my order and again refused to take my money. After Barack Obama visited earlier this year, a sign...
...last time I saw Ben was at a celebration of the 50th anniversary of his restaurant. Celebrities and politicians were there, along with people of all backgrounds. Regardless of race, creed or culture, Ben made everyone feel at home. His sons and daughter, who now run the family business, do too. For Ben, that was the key word: family...
Cosby proposed to his wife at Ben's Chili Bowl and held a press conference at the restaurant in 1985 after his sitcom...
...south, which are usually private owned. The result is that while profits are climbing for large, state-owned firms, the private sector is lagging. "The biggest challenge for the authorities is that the private sector has yet to fully recover. This makes it difficult to tighten early," Ben Simpfendorfer, a Hong Kong-based China economist for RBS, wrote in a research note. "It also funnels money into equity and housing rather than the real economy. The temptation will be to leave policy too loose, for too long, resulting in another asset price bubble...