Now the trains are going back west empty, but he hopes to fill them with beer, soda, water and paper, all of which already go west-to-east.

FORBES: Join The Cold Train

Formanek had been in Berlin off and on about a month, going back and forth between East and West, sneaking past grim-faced border guards, covering demonstrations in East Berlin and then going back to the West to send the television stories.

CNN: Remembering the night the Berlin Wall fell

And I'm going to bring Cornel West back in here.

NPR: Carly Simon's 'Never Been Gone'

As background to this you should know that the various West African countries have had commodity boards going back to colonial days.

FORBES: Fixed Prices and Permeable Borders Just Don't Work

Up next, we're going to head back -- there it is -- to West Hempstead to explain and introduce you to Oopsie, that's the little horse's name, which is related to the job hunt.

CNN: Transcript of June 'CNN Money Summit: Money & Main St.'