Russian Writer, Straw Hat, Summer

"I know you can help me. I'm looking for a straw hat. A summer hat. One that's like the ones worn by Chekhov and Tolstoy. You know, the famous Russian writers."

"Are you a writer who is Russian?"

"A writer who is not Russian. A Writer. I have pictures of what I'm talking about. Wanna see some pictures?"

"This is Chekhov. See the straw hat? It's summer. Something like that."

No verbal responses. The hat people share glances, raised eyebrows. They are experts. Are they cooking something up? Scanning the archives?

Your Bloguero charges on. He has done research, as one might expect. "Well, this one is clearer. It's Tolstoy."

"Well, actually it isn't the real Tolstoy. It's how he looked in that movie, The Last Station. Seen that? It was a great movie. That's the hat I want."

"Oh. I know what that is. We've got it. It came in yesterday." Smiles all around.

"This isn't going to cost me a fortune is it?" No, it turns out, it is not.

A nice warm round of applause for our friends at The Village Scandal, 19 East 7th Street, New York (between Second and Third Avenues). What a fantastic hat store in New York City. Bravo!!