So, yesterday I was working late and a couple of Russians walk in asking for a tire. Their 2015 Mercedes C300 got clobbered by a pothole. They wanted a taxi ride back to their bed and breakfast so I organized it for them. Then, they decided the taxi can wait, they wanted something to eat.
I told them there was a good Thai place up the street. They seemed interested and asked if they could walk there. My wife was coming to pick me up (we car pool when we can), so I said no big deal, we'll drive them there.
During all of this they were really sarcastic. They said a lot of "noi, stroy, yoys, nyiets" and such, so I figured it was Russian. I asked and the man, who never told me his name and gave me his "wife's" information (they worse no rings and when I asked whther they were married acted very secretive), if they were Russian. They said no, they were Polish. What the heck do I know? But, he was being sarcastic. He was Russian.
So, on the way to the restaurant they ask me whether my wife and I would want to join them for dinner. I asked my wife and she said sure.
We sit down and they asked my wife and I normal questions (i.e. like how we met, how to pronounce my wife's name "Sreynoch," and etcetera). Whenever we asked the questions, we got sarcastic responses. For example, when we asked what his name was he changed the subject. When we asked whether they were married he said, "Yeah, a very long time." We asked if they had kids and we got two answers, "Quite a few" and "two." When work came up, he said he was a "chicken farmer" but was very vague about exactly what he did (marketing, management, legal work with regulations, who knows.)
They presented themselves as vacationers from Moscow. I asked them what there is to do in Moscow. They said drink and dance. I told them that's every city. We asked whether they really liked to travel and they said they did. I asked them if they been to Spain and whether they really liked it, and his "wife" gushed and said it was really good.
I expressed my lack of interest in traveling. I'm 30 and live in the town right next to where I grew up. When I go to my wife's country, I just hang out with family and the last time I was there, spent a lot of time painting the house in Phnom Penh. They were flabbergasted about why I didn't want to travel to different places. I said, we can eat, drink, and go to the beach practically anywhere (granted, maybe not in Russia, but at least in the US.)
We explained that we were Christians, that's how we met, and because Christ gave Himself up for us I cannot help but want to make sacrifices for Christs sake and He sacrificed Himself. He thought that that was taking religion too seriously. I said that there is ultimate moral accountability for everything we do.
Their taxi arrived and so he grabbed the bill, whipped out a wad of cash, and paid it. I helped them get bags out of my car and thanked them and on the way out, I run into one of the Jehovah's Witnesses that stopped meeting with me (so we had an opportunity to catch up.) Today, they picked up the Mercedes and were very nice, and even tipped me a little less than $30 (which was the change from their bill.)
My overall impression was that they had very eccentric senses of humor (my grandfather was like that) and were simply on vacation (though when I asked where they were going and for how long, they were evasive.) That, or they were evasive for a reason (i.e. Russian mob?) Regardless, I see the hand of God on the whole situation. My wife and I had the opportunity to make a Gospel presentation and were in the right place at the right time to run into Lou. At the very least, it was an interesting evening plus a free meal and drinks.
