THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9410280244
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
``Ootka Vedit Sovietzki Soyuz'' means - what? That is today's trivia question.< If you are fluent in the language, the translation should be a breeze. Otherwise, read on for some clues.
The reference is to a half-century-old Windsor businessman whose name is in that fictional newspaper headline.
He spent $995 and 10 days in Moscow, Leningrad and Minsk, part of a tour appropriately called ``See-Soviet-and-Save,'' an enticement to bring tourists from around the globe.
It came at glasnost time, when the area was opening to one and all after the downfall of communism.
The trip, ironically, was sponsored by the Russian government and the American Farm Bureau, a mix of right and left.
Our trivia subject stayed in a hotel that had 3,000 rooms, a theater, shops and a restaurant.
The restaurants were not his favorite places.
``The food there was awful,'' he said, ``but the ice cream is far superior to ours. It's made of pure cream.''
He was made to listen to a lecture from a police officer who disapproved of his buying methods.
``I was buying a black box from a guy on the street, a beautiful lacquered box with a medieval scene. The cop gave me a lecture, but I didn't understand a word.''
He understood, later, what the problem was: He was supposed to buy the box in a store.
``I would have paid $400 for it there. I got mine for $20.''
One of the trip's biggest deals was a look at the Bolshoi Ballet. Our trivia subject was impressed. It was his first look at that art form and, so far, his last.
``It was my first visit there. I loved it. I'd like to go back and see what they have now.''
Who is this travelin' man? And what does that headline mean?
And, what about these other questions?
1. He wanted to write a book and call it ``Two Minds Without a Single Thought.'' It never got written. Who never wrote it?
2. Besides being the only presidents to have beards, what else did these men have in common? They are Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield and Benjamin Harrison.
3. This actress was elected to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Hall of Fame, although she was never with that or any circus. Who and why?
4. If you remember your radio shows from the 1930s and '40s, you should have no trouble recalling the name of the major railroad depot that was the basis for, and the name of, a dramatic series.
5. What happened in 1894 that affected Spot, Fido, Rover, Rex, et al? (Answers are on Page 16) (Answers are on Page 16) A TWIST OF TRIVIA The Answers (Questions are on Page 4)
Linwood Duck, that is - the owner of Windsor Gardens Florist.
The trip was made in '89 - visits to museums, a look at cultural activities and plenty of sightseeing.
And, there was plenty of souvenir-buying and film-taking.
Duck could not photograph just anything. The area had just opened for tourists and there was still a list of picture-taking no-no's. He wants to go back and see how much more open the area is these days.
In those days, there was no tipping in the restaurants, so he carried along some American items that were hard to get in Russia then - pens, chewing gum, peanuts - and handed them out as gifts.
Today, it is a fairly safe bet, money will be more than welcome.
Now, welcome to the answers to the other questions:
1. Stan Laurel was thinking of writing ``Two Minds Without a Single Thought,'' a story of the Laurel and Hardy escapades. He never got past the title. Later, someone else wrote a biography of the legendary duo.
2. Lincoln, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Harrison - all were bearded Republicans.
3. Betty Hutton was elected to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Hall of Fame because of the acrobatics she performed in Cecil B. DeMille's flick, ``The Greatest Show on Earth.''
4. That choo-choo radio show took place in, and was called, ``Grand Central Station.'' That had a more dramatic ring than Pennsylvania Station.
5. The first dog license law was enacted in 1894. Woof! ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
This Windsor businessman visited the Soviet Union on a
``See-Soviet-and-Save'' tour in 1989. Who is he?
Photo
Betty Hutton
In circus hall of fame
by CNB