After starting as a messenger on Wall Street, he went to Columbia Business School, where he met classmates who helped provide connections over the decades of his deal making.
It did not help that the Japanese, over the decades, had become some of the most electricity-saturated people in the world.
"Viva Cuba Libre!" shouted the Cuban exiles who greeted the statue at the slip and who, over the decades, helped transform this once sleepy town into a playground of guayabera shirts, Cuban cafecito and rhythmic congas.
Expansion over the decades has helped the canal accommodate more traffic and larger ship sizes.
"We thank all the Yes fans who have been so passionate over the decades, and helped us to keep the flag flying.
Over the decades, Mr. Kheel helped mediate more than a dozen transit contracts and helped end the 12-day transit strike of 1966.
But over the decades, they have helped forecasters save millions of lives and prevent billions of dollars in property damage.
The anecdotes he dispensed had been polished smooth over the decades, and they helped him administer a carefully calibrated dose of political and spiritual incitement.
