A moonlit night full of laughter and fairies and princesses and more than one Cleopatra, a touch of holiday fun:
HALLOWEEN
A gentle breeze rustling the dry cornstalks.
A sound is heard, a goblin walks.
A harvest moon suffers a black cat’s cry.
Oh’ do the witches fly!
Bonfire catches a pumpkin’s gleam.
Rejoice, it’s Halloween!
Richard Anderson
The Red Army Ushanka Hat For Halloween
Without preparing for the Halloween party at our dance social, last minute I thought about the Russian Red Army Hat I bought in Moscow, and I could portrait a Russian soldier for fun!
When we were touring in Moscow 1998, a guy on the street approached us in army uniform holding a few army coats and hats trying to sell some items to us. We bought the hat out of sympathy trying to help him out. He told us that the hat belonged to one of his comrades during the war. His broken English did not convey any details about the story behind the hat, but I always wondered if his comrade died in the war, and he inherited the hat, or it was purely a vendor’s gimmick trying to gyp a tourist. One thing for sure is that it is a used and authentic Russian Ushanka Army Hat because I could smell the musty and sweaty smell!
The Red Army Ushanka Hat
Bing Chang – 10/28/2017
Wearing the Ushanka hat as a Bolshevik Red Army ghost,
I conjured up an apparition, with images my mind being engrossed.
Trying to intuit the sensibility of “War and Peace”,
I hardly could decode Russian bear’s caprice.
A frenzied soul in the snow seeks reasons to its utmost.