Hey, I read Dan's NaDruWriNi and that reminded me...

Erica and were both wearing our Mad Bomber hats (a fire! oh, no, poor mad bomber!) whcih, if you're not familar, are big rabbit-fur lined hats with big ear flaps. Sterotypical "Russian" winter hats, except that Mad Bomber has been making them for years and have evolved them with modern fabrics, etc, so Erica's is a bright red and mine a bright blue. On the Red Line tonight, there weren't many seats free, so Erica was sitting next to a guy who was pouring over a racing forum (form?) and I was sitting across the aisle from them. After we've been on the train for a good 15, 20 minutes, the guy starts talking to me across Erica. Between his accent and low volume and the noise of the train, I caught one word in three.

Mumblemumblemuble Russian hat?

Me: (smile politely)

mumblemumblemumble Russian language?

Me: No, I don't speak Russian, I just have this hat.

mumblemumble (words that sound like Russian)

Me: (smile politely and shrug)

mumblemuyble (either "how much did you pay for it?" or "do you want to sell it?" -- really, I'm not sure)

Me: It was a gift. (This is a lie. I just didn't want to get into it.)

mumblemumblemumble, etc, and so on.

Later, he got super excited that the guy sitting in front of him had a cell phone camera. Whee!