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| Laurie with the souvenir purchased from the Russian street vendor. |
Our world traveler was visiting Russia with her sister, Brenda, on a two-week group tour that looked for a while like it might last a lifetime. Laurie's icon was the culprit.
The Russians had been having difficulties with stolen antiquities and treasures being sold on the black market. Sort of a genteel version of the loose nukes saga. Authorities were on the lookout for suspicious transactions.
Laurie is an antique hound from way back. So when she spotted a street vendor selling a particularly interesting looking icon, she gave him $85 for it.
She packed it into her carry-on bag in case there would be questions. Sure enough, an airport inspector pulled her aside.
Soon she had been separated from her group and was held in a glass cage where her group, and her somewhat bemused sister, could see, but not hear her. There she was questioned, on and off, for four hours by the KGB. She stuck to her story, the truth. They simply didn't know for sure if Laurie had a precious icon of national significance or an ordinary object of art.
Laurie was never certain if the plane might depart without her, but she was confident she would get out of this with her treasure. She was right. Eventually, the officer just said "here" and thrust Laurie's souvenir back at her. She was free to rejoin her group.
Her sister Brenda breathed a big sigh of relief. What started as a funny situation had deteriorated somewhat over the four hours. Now she had been freed from a moral quandry: Do I stick with my stubborn sister in Russia. . . or do I fly away with the group?
Hmmm. What would you do?
Hmmm. What would you do?
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| In Red Square with Brenda |
