The Puzzle Seller of Kyiv

Today I met a man who sells nothing but puzzles. Floor to ceiling, thousands and thousands of puzzles. Now, maybe there is another man somewhere in Kyiv that has a puzzle shop too. But, I hope not, because it kinda tickles me to think I’ve found the only one in a city of millions.

We weren’t looking for a puzzle shop. We just happened upon it on our way to somewhere else. We passed by it the first time thinking about nothing besides getting to the somewhere else. On the way back, I stopped and looked in the window. A few of the boxes were sun faded, and it was almost impossible to tell if the boxes were covered in dust, or if it was just the windows covered in dirt, or both.

Now, I am a not a person who would choose a puzzle over, say a good book. Especially a dusty puzzle that has been sitting on a shelf for ten years just waiting to wreak havoc on my allergies. However, I know more than a few people who love them, so we went in. Walking through the door was akin to Alice stepping through the looking glass. On the other side, bright, clean, and nothing but wondrous scenes, creatures of every sort, vivid colors, painting the front of the boxes. Boxes that were full of imagination, cut into tiny pieces, and left \240jumbled waiting for a magician to sort it all out. I was intrigued and smitten.

We started poking around the shelves, the man who owned it paying us no mind even though there was only one other person in the store. I pulled a box off a shelf, and while trying to keep another one where it belonged, pushed two off the backside. I couldn’t see the man, but he said something in Russian that sounded like I was being chastised. I quietly picked up the boxes and put them back in their place.

When I came back around the corner with the puzzle in my hand, in an instant, everything changed. The man that was irritated with me only a minute before saw the smile on my face as I showed Ron the box, and suddenly we had a puzzle concierge at our service. He started opening cardboard boxes full of puzzles that were on the floor so we could see the treasures inside. As I’d point out the artwork and intricacy of the piece he was showing, he’d speak Russian, we’d speak English, and yet, we had an entire conversation. He pulled one off the shelf to show me, glanced at my face, then patted his right hand over his heart. He knew I was in love. Sometimes there are no words required.

I didn’t have to love puzzles to love the pictures. Pictures full of beautiful scenery, reproductions of great works of art, every animal imaginable, cartons, movies, \240iconic landmarks, famous places, famous people, landscape, it doesn’t matter how long the list, it was all there.

The pictures that start out as a meaningless pile. A pile that for some can cause distress and anxiety because there are no clear directions. There are no pieces marked start here. You simply have to gently spread out the pieces, turn them over so everything’s right side up, then start building. Whether it’s from the edge, or the middle, it doesn’t matter. It’s just the action of putting the next piece in it’s place.

I didn’t have to love puzzles to love their seller. His enthusiasm and warmth needed no spoken language to transmit what they wanted to say. So while I didn’t intend of puzzle shopping today, I of course, wasn’t leaving without one. I justified it by telling myself it would be good for my brain. Then I thought, wow, I’m so into this shop, if I finish this one, I’m coming back next time for the 50,000 piece, seven meter one from his special stash in the cardboard box on the floor. Go big or go home right? Then I thought, will there be a next time?

Just like with a puzzle, most of the world right now is wondering where and how all the pieces fit together. There are a lot of unknowns, an incomplete picture, and people don’t know if the pile of fragments that was life as they knew it just a week ago, will ever fit back together the way they remember it. Somebody took their picture, broke it apart, threw it in a box, shook it and rattled it all to hell, then dumped the mess at their feet. It’s stressful and scary.

They say that in most countries the virus hasn’t peaked yet. Which means, we have sometime for things to get worse. That’s not being negative, it’s realistic. Soon, we all may be singing to each other from our windows and balconies like they’ve done in Italy because their may be no public gatherings at all. \240Anywhere. All retail shops, restaurants, libraries, salons and bars closed. No performers performing. No musicians playing. No artists exhibiting. Already planes are grounded, and now countries are prohibited incoming and outgoing air traffic completely. Cruise ships aren’t sailing.

Will my puzzle seller be there when all of this is no longer the one and only headline in the papers and on the news? What about the woman that just opened the new bakery inside our metro stop? She hasn’t been in business but maybe a month. Can she withstand a potential shutdown comprised of multiple weeks? Big retailers in the States are making a killing. As fast as they can stock it is as fast as it rolls out the door. Yes, everyone needs extra food, water and supplies in their house right now. My point is the large retailers are only getting larger with all this. What about the mom and pops? The bootstrapped companies and the family run joints? The small neighborhood diners that have been serving the same crowd for 40 years, will they still have their open sign on the door in a few weeks?? Or what about your hairdresser or nail tech? The chains will be fine. What about the rest? What about the health care workers that will be doing what they do despite the potential lack of necessities in their own homes, or on the job?

There have been plenty of posts going around with great ideas how you can support those that will be most affected by the current social distancing, \240and the looming mass closures. You can check them out, but a few examples are buy gift certificates now to use later. Shop small whenever you can. Check on your neighbors, especially the elderly. If you have a little extra, and someone is in need, share.

The next few weeks will be hard for so many, for so many different reasons. Please be there for one another. Emotions are high and rampant, but please remember, we are all human and all in this together. If you get scared, or unsure, just breathe and remember, to put it all back together, it’s just one piece at a time. Still, if you need anything, a friend, a person to vent to, just let me know. I’ll just be siting at my kitchen table working on this puzzle I bought. Hoping that when I finish it, my friend, his shop, and his secret stash are still there waiting to see me like I will be waiting to see them.