The Russian lady looked to be in her late eighties or well into her nineties. You’d think she’d had time to learn some manners. I handed her flowers as she pointed at my feet and laughed! I did too and walked back home.
I’ve talked to many of the Russians who live in a giant apartment building a few blocks from my house. They all seem to have lived a great deal of their lives on farms and I know from my own apartment living how I missed growing flowers.
So if I notice a Russian lady walking by I drop my brush and rush outside with scissors and make a bouquet as fast as I can then run to catch up with her.
For winter deliveries I have to search long and hard for something to bouquet then I generally ran out of my loose fitting shoes trying to catch up. Each time I end up taking my shoes off so what the lady sees, when she turns around in response to my, “Hello”, is me panting, shoes in one hand flowers in the other, and my two socking feet. I get the point and laugh!  nancymauerman.com