Emergency sweater

The busiest streets of Kyiv have pedestrian underpasses, many of which are markets for people selling coffee, batteries, socks, flowers, beer which some men drink like coffee on their way to work, Victoria's Secret-type bras, etc.

I walk through one of these underpasses every morning. There might be an opportunity to buy something to cover up my undershirt from a vendor who seems to sell sweaters, though her stall is barely visible through the crush of commuters. Would her stall be open so early? Would she have sweaters, or only thongs?

But she was open for sales--I was able to get a big purple sweater (which smelled of cigarette smoke from being hung in the smoky underpass for, probably, weeks)

My friend Pat of Ukrainian descent told me that I'd brought the vendor good luck. A big sale first thing in the morning ($10, 7 a.m.) is, according to local lore, a harbinger of good sales the rest of the day. So it was a stroke of luck for both me and her.

"You just went and BOUGHT something, you're such an American!" another friend said. Well, yeah.