60-some years ago Asghar Ghahraman wanted to live in america but he couldn’t afford the trip – so he did what any other level-headed iranian would do: he joined the iranian navy, waited 9 years to dock in america, jumped ship, and swam to the land of liberty. the next few months took him far south, then far north. being homeless in nyc, he realized the american dream of building something out of nothing. at the time of this interview, mr. ray (he learned spanish to forge a drivers license/new identity as “raymond alvarez”) is 81 and has been running his candy store on avenue A. for 40 years without ever taking a vacation. i love this guy, i love his store, and i love his chocolate milkshakes. this is my tribute to the nicest guy in the east village.