Christmas in Moscow

[jRuutu 2,323]

 

 

Christmas is just around the corner. Everywhere you go around the bigger cities of Russia, you can see ladies walking alone as they look for gifts for their cats and kids, as most of the men are dead or fighting in Ukraine.  Not a surprise that the sales numbers of the typical "guy gifts" have plummeted, whereas the sale numbers of cat food and gaming consoles have skyrocketed.  On the positive side, the number of stray cats in Moscow and St. Petersburg is lower than ever as the broken families have rescued the cats, so they can still wake up on Christmas morning to something hairy lying on the kitchen floor. Such is life in modern-day Russia. If you take away the death and war, the life of the average Russian lady in their late 30s is not that different from the life of many 30-something males in the West as cats and gaming consoles also dominate their existence.

 

Traditionally, Moscow Menace players have participated in various Christmas-related events from bringing gifts to children at hospitals to dressing up as elves and shoveling snow from the driveways of the elderly. The whole purpose is to bring Christmas spirit to people and show that the Moscow Menace players are regular people too. For the upcoming Christmas, the organization decided to invest heavily into boosting the morale of those living in Moscow. Every player in The Menace was ordered to donate their time and to get out there.

 

As of recent, many Moscow Menace players have been doing all kinds of volunteer work around the city. David Rashford and Jeff Lewis were seen in the suburbs in mini-tractors cleaning the streets from snow. Against all odds, no cars or city property were damaged, but many locals were annoyed about the quality of the work as many streets had snow walls that made it difficult to walk in and out of driveways. Igor, the city worker, who was supervising the work done by Rashford and Lewis, pointed out that the duo did solid work and it was he who instructed Rashford and Lewish to drive straight and ignore any snow walls and build-ups as it is not unusual for the people to throw frozen cabbage out of the buildings towards the mini-tractors. It is believed that 12 months of good luck follow if you are able to hit the mini-tractor with a piece of cabbage.

 

Fraser Wallace, Nils Andersson, Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage, and Axle Gunner participated in a flash mob with a few local singers. They sang Christmas songs to anyone who happened to walk through the subway station at the heart of Moscow. Rumors suggest the group was thought to be drunk, but these rumors were later denied, the singers were just bad at singing.

 

Eric Queefson, Left Alone, and The Mediocre One followed the police force on a Saturday evening. For the most part, everything went smoothly, the trio patrolled the streets and brought candy and peace to the people of Moscow. The only time any of the players were close to doing actual police work was when Queefson attempted to tackle a suspect who stole a purse, but Queefson missed spectacularly. The robber appeared to recognize Queefson and his defensive abilities as he rushed straight toward the space where Queefson was standing.  Not known for his ability to defend the open space or mark his man, Queefson rushed forward and launched himself towards the bad guy, missing his target completely. Luckily the police were armed, few warning shots in the air were enough to stop the bad guy on his track. Queefson stayed down on the ground for an extended period of time holding his face, apparently to show the police that the bad guy had hit him in the face.  No contact was made between Queefson and the bad guy, so no extra beatings were handed out. Everything ended well, the purse was retrieved.

Sam Tombstone visited a local car repair shop that repairs cars for free. The repair shop offers opportunities for young people to learn about cars and to earn some pocket change during the process. In return, people get their cars fixed without any cost! Tombstone, the only goalie in Moscow, was reportedly delighted to spend a couple of hours fixing cars as the bot goalie of Moscow is under repair constantly. According to their own words, Tombstone now feels they can try to help fix the bot goalie if needed.

 

 

Last Sunday, rookie Jarmo Ruutu was seen in a Moscow shopping mall dressed up as Santa Claus. He was there to answer questions from the audience and to pose in pictures.  It was reported Jarmo Ruutu managed to be at the shopping mall for a solid 30 minutes before anyone realized it was him. Then they brought him the Santa outfit, which resulted in another 30-minute wait as people thought he was just another Santa. Things started to pick up after the security staff of the shopping mall put a name tag on Jarmo and yelled at people to come over. More and more people started to show up to ask questions from the Menace center. 

 

Those present reported the atmosphere was friendly and fun. People of all ages asked all kinds of questions and posed in pictures with Jarmo Ruutu.  A lot of the action was also filmed and posted on social media. Here are some of the highlights transcribed:

 

Smart, elegant, and talented, are words that can be used to describe Axle Gunner as a player. What words would you use to describe yourself as a player?
JR: Smart, elegant, and talented. Just because someone else is smarter, more elegant, and more talented than you are does not mean you can't also be seen as smart, elegant, and talented.  I think I have improved a lot during my short time in Moscow. If you come back next year to ask the same question, I am sure using those same words is not as out of the place as now, because you will see I have improved a lot as a player.

 

What is Moscow Menace?
JR: That is a tough question. To many, Moscow Menace is a professional hockey team, we play in the VHL against different teams from different corners of the world. If you are a fan, Moscow Menace is like a hobby, you take an interest in the team and follow the team around, you hope that the team does well, so you feel good.  If you are a hardcore fan, Moscow Menace is more than a hobby, Moscow Menace is a way of life. You feel very good when the team plays well, but you also feel sad when the team does not do well.

 

Am I going to get Christmas gifts?
JR: Have you been naughty? There is still plenty of time to turn things around. Christmas is weeks away. You know, our coach in Moscow always says between the periods if we are losing: "Cmon guys, we can turn this around!", quite often we then start to laugh together as we all deep down know we can not turn it around, 20 minutes of hockey goes by so fast and if you are down by 3 goals against some of these teams in VHL, getting even is close to mission impossible, but even then there is a chance. Never give up hope, starting from this minute, you will be on your best behavior, and help others when the opportunity comes.  Now, get off from my knee and go do some security guard work.

 

Do you know where my father is?
JR: I know I am the Santa, but I am also an honest Santa, so I am not going to lie to you: your father is more than likely dead. He might come back home, but is he really the same person anymore? War changes people, soldiers age years and years in a short period of time. Think about the mental and physical stress they are under, the lack of sleep, the lack of food, being out there against the elements, not to mention the stress that comes with seeing your friends getting blown up. If they are lucky, physically they are somewhat intact, but the glow in their eyes is long gone.  Never mind, is that your father over there? Standing next to the security guard and waving his hand? Go on, run to your father!

 

When do the people of Moscow get to participate in the VHL Championship parade?
JR: Hopefully soon, we have a lot of talented players on the roster, and others will join through the draft, and if you add the potential free agent or two, it won't be long now. The ongoing season has been a tough one, but next year will be better, the year after that even better, and the year after that even more better. Things are looking up for Moscow Menace. I encourage you and everybody here to come watch us play whenever you can. When we one day celebrate together in the streets of Moscow, the victory will be special, because we got up from the bottom together!

 

After spending around an hour or so answering questions and taking pictures, Jarmo Ruutu removed his name tag and walked away from the shopping mall in his Santa Claus outfit, he was again just another Santa walking around the streets of Moscow. 

 

1550ish words

4.12-10.12

11.12-17.12

18.12-24.12

 

[jRuutu 2,323]

11.12-17.12

[jRuutu 2,323]

18.12-24.12

[Bojovnik 487]

Doesn't even realize that Russians don't celebrate Christmas but New Year, smh.

[Daniel Janser 1,995]

47 minutes ago, Bojovnik said:

Doesn't even realize that Russians don't celebrate Christmas but New Year, smh.

I thought they do, but only on Epiphany as that is when the three wise men arrived in Betlehem, but I only know it from hear-say...