APPLE MAN page 69

than just hand out apples.
"I fix up everything, see
that everything should be in
place," Mr. Stobinsky says.
"I look over the merchan-
dise, and anything's a little
bit not so hot, I take it out."
But his authority extends
far beyond fruits and
vegetables, Mark Anusbig-
ian says. Mr. Stobinsky
keeps an eye on the stock
people as well as the stock.
Randy Tasco can attest to
Mr. Stobinsky's influence. A
longtime friend of Mark
Anusbigian, Mr. Tasco be-
gan carrying groceries at
Westborn Market when he
was 9 years old and con-
tinued through his college
summer vacations.
"There were several kids
in serious trouble," Mr.
Tasco recalls. "Jules was
able to bring them into the
store and teach them a trade
and get them on the right
path. They're all doing very
well right now."

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Lessee has option to purchase at lease end. To get total pyrnts. multiply pyrril by 36 months.

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Still, the commute from
his home in Royal Oak to
the Dearborn store even-
tually became too much for
Mr. Stobinsky. Four years
ago, after 12 years at
Westborn he gave retire-
ment its second try. He was
80 years old and working
four days a week.
He visited the market, but
he spent most of his time
with friends at the Oak
Park Jewish Community
Center.
At the JCC, Mr. Stobinsky
received another call from
George Anusbigian. He and
his sons were opening a
store in Berkley. Would Mr.
Stobinsky please come help
out . . .?
"Are you crazy? I'm too old
to work!" Mr. Stobinsky told
him. But Mr. Anusbigian
persevered. "You're never
too old for me," he insisted.
After six months, he con-
vinced Mr. Stobinsky to help
open the new market on
Woodward.
Mr. Stobinsky's presence
drew both old and new
customers, Mark Anus-
bigian says. "When they
hear he's working again, a
lot of people come out just to
see him."
Lil Nakfoor, a regular at
the Berkley market, agrees.
"He's the most colorful
man here," she says. "I only
look for him. I don't come
during the week, because
he's not here."

She hands Mr. Stobinsky
a cantaloupe and asks if it
will be ripe for Sunday even-
ing. Perfect, he assures her.
"Now give me two more that
I can be proud of," she says.
He finds a pair, which she
carefully places in her
basket.
Another woman ap-
proaches. "You're the owner,
right?" she asks, as he helps
her pick out a pineapple. He
tugs at the leaves and
laughs. "Oh no," he says,
"I'm not the owner."
The woman shakes her
head. "My husband was
sure you were the owner,"
she tells him.
The confusion is natural
— Mr. Stobinsky looks like
a man who knows what he's
doing. He walks around the
store all day, organizing and
reorganizing the tomatoes,
picking up strawberries
from the floor, rearranging
the apples, all while answer-
ing customer questions and
supervising the stock boys.
He surveys the raspberries
one more time. With a flick
of his wrist, he turns over a
pint box in one palm, shakes
it, and turns the box upright
again. A fruit man's magic
trick, he calls it. Now the
box appears fuller. He
repeats his trick several
more times, fills the empty
spaces in the raspberry
display, and pops a berry in-
to his mouth. ❑

Israeli Soldiers
Shot In Lebanon

Jerusalem (JTA) — The
Israeli army slapped a
cm-few on downtown Hebron
last week after two soldiers
were shot and wounded as
their jeep drove through the
southern part of the West
Bank city.
In what is believed to have
been a premeditated am-
bush, the jeep driver was hit
several times in the chest.
He was later reported out of
danger after surgery at
Hadassah-Hebrew Univer-
sity Medical Center in
Jerusalem.
The other soldier, a female
officer, sustained slight
wounds and was expected to
be discharged from the
hospital in a day.
Sources said local Palesti-
nians rescued the wounded

soldiers.

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