Syedyshev Oleg
Syedyshev Oleg

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Humorous Essays Based on students' memories

"All have died
except for those who are alive, and those whom we remember"Confucius

Essay 133. Forty years later

Right after the beginning of the year 2012 among the graduates of Kemerovo medical institute of 1972, who I kept in touch with, it was brought up that the year was the one of an anniversary - forty years after the graduation, and that it would be nice to meet and socialize with old friends and just former fellow students. And most active were the graduates of the sanitary and hygiene (san-hyg) department. Volodya Fainzilberg got into the role of an organizer so much

  Vladimir Fainzilberg  

Vladimir Fainzilberg

that via a site of classmates started giving directions of what had to be done and by who. I, as a supporter of the meeting, also took an active part, though as an executor of Fainzilberg's directions. At the first stage there was an opinion to arrange a mutual meeting of the graduates of both sanitary-hygiene and therapeutics departments.

Oleg Syedyshev

Oleg Syedyshev

There was only one drawback, the date of the meeting could not be determined for a long time. And I am used to an accurate schedule of my life and work. I like this a lot; if I always have breakfast at 6.15 and leave for work at 7.00, then this is it, it will be this way no matter what, and never the opposite. So it was supposed by the san-hyg graduates to have the meeting in June. The therapeutics department graduates woke up in May, and there was immediately determined the date of the meeting, the one easy to remember, the 22 June, and made a decision to have a meeting separately from the san-hyg graduates. To my most sincere regret, by that time I already had had business appointments and a schedule of my business trips confirmed. I had to refuse from going to Kemerovo. It was very disappointing to me, but the "merchant's" word I'd given obliged me. I was glad that by the time of the meeting I'd managed to publish my book of humorous essays based on reminiscences about student years, for which I'd chosen an unpretentious title of "The Guys".

I was doing my best; I wanted very much the book to look up to the standards, and the printing quality to be high, and the paper to be of high quality. Well, and my main weak point are mistakes. There were lots of them in drafts, and only a lazy one did not write to me saying: "my dear friend, you are not too strong on putting commas". I had to work hard that in the book all commas were there where they had to be, as well as make friends with a dash and ellipses. Well, as it seems to me all my efforts were not wasted. As a result an excellent book came out. And this is not my opinion, but the words of those who already have the book. I was making plans for myself, as at the meeting I would present a book to all the present and ask everybody to sign my copy. That would be the memory for the life time. I am sure that with a signature everybody would have left with me a particle of his or her heart.

Well and if everybody would have signed everybody's copy, then according to the law of transition from quantity into quality, there would be not a particle of a heart, but "the guys'" aura of mutual feelings powerful enough to move mountains. So I thought, and dreamed and imagined. Well, as soon as I did not have a chance to come to Kemerovo to take part in the meeting, I wrote a letter to all of its participants. Again there was a problem of who to ask to read it? It seems to me that I hit the right point when charged Shurik Popovitch with this important task.

 Sasha Popovitch is reading a welcoming letter of Oleg Syedyshev

Sasha Popovitch is
reading a welcoming
letter of Oleg Syedyshev

As when back at the institute he was famous as a talented prankster. And even now who of us can boast to be able to do skydiving? And what about his worries of "how not to get drunk" at the meeting; this is an example in his favor. Only a sincere person, who is absolutely free of a burden of being worried about what impression he produces on others, could think that way. Sasha did not fail me; perhaps I would not be able to read the letter the way he did. And how precisely he chose the moment at the meeting to read the message; neither earlier, nor later. And in what way he was listened to. How emotions of his listeners where changing from suspicion to placidity and approving laughter.

A.Salmayer

A.Salmayer

A.Lopatin, V.Agadzhanyan

A.Lopatin, V.Agadzhanyan

O.Ptitsyna

O.Ptitsyna


How Sasha Salmayer gave a start, when heard his last name, how Vagram and imperturbable Olya Ptitsyna became alerted, when he mentioned them. Well and how Tolik Lopatin gave a broad smile, when he heard the words addressed to him. It was so, because Shura Popovitch managed to put accents that way. Good job! Well, I am not going to intrigue you any longer, here is the letter:

"My dear Guys!
I am sorry that I call you that way now, forty years after the end of the official period of being dudes. May those who now is sitting and thinking: "But I was not the Guy" not act against their consciousness. Sasha Salmayer, are you here? Don't even think of saying that you were not one of the Guys. Remember how you and I together with my Batya drank home made brew, which was tasty and strong; how by vigorously breathing out through our nostrils we tried to keep away small fruit worms floating on the surface of the brew. By the way, an essay about that is coming. And is academician Agadzhanyan here? Will he have the cheek to say that he was not one of the Guys? Dear sirs-comrades, and how would you take the fact that the academician-to-be Agadzhanyan together with Peter Kozlov and your most humble servant, and Mukha from the san-hyg is a witness of that, were walking with their arms around each other in an embrace around Kedrovka and were shouting at the top of our voices a famous back then song: "Do not frown, Lada, you laughter is an award"; or when in Novosibirsk, and the academician-to-be Agadzhanyan had just presented his Candidate's dissertation and celebrated the event very well together with your most humble servant and two other guys, how we were belting out a phrase of "and to have breakfast we will fly to Paris". If, ladies and gentlemen, you say that he is not one of the Guys, but a dreamer, you know, I won't agree with you. Olya Ptitsyna, it's up to you, may any other last name is written in your passport, but forty years ago you were Ptitsyna, and do not deny that. And the fact that you were one of the Guys all right is an axiom. Well, who else of the ladies present took part in stealing of chickens? Yeah. Forget the voices that you were not one of the Guys. And what about the san-hyg department students? All of them were the Guys beyond all doubts. Once also at Kedrovka Dimka and I made Mukha, our dancer, so much drunk that he himself would not be able to describe his dance after that. As for Faiz, nothing needs to be said at all; and Lyosha Krasnov has always been one of the Guys and remained the one, even though he is a professor. He sends me so special cards, it's a feast for an eye. He is the Guy. What can you expect from him? And Shurik Popovitch, where is he, by the way? Is he not the Guy? Ah, do not make me laugh. To do parachute jumping? What's that? And what if one forgets to put it on? I am not going to be cunning and deny, but will honestly admit: "Yes, I am one of the Guys! I have always been the one and remain like that till my last day. And I am proud of that".
Believe all of us, who has kept the honorary title of the GUYS through decades, that we have what to remember and what to be proud of.
I propose to use the opportunity of the meeting and institute a title of "A Guy of Honor of 1972 Graduation Year". I humbly offer to take the Humorous essays instead of the statutes. And as a benefit take a double one for the road.
And in conclusion I would like to say that I love you very much. Tolik Lopatin, hello, I love you too!
I would like to wish good health and happiness to all of you.
Please, do not forget me and send me funny or instructive stories, we will continue writing the book "The Guys" together.
My web site is www.syedyshev.com
Yes, you are right, those who are attentive. Guys, but the ones in Ukraine mangled the last name I've got from the day of my birth and wrote after "S" epsilon. No, I believe, they are not the guys anyway, we are not accepting them into our team, but as soon it is necessary to name them somehow, let them be "scums".

There was no reason for me to be that worried. Thanks God, everybody preserved their sense of humor. They started remembering the essays and what had not been included in them and even offered a toast and drank to the author of the Humorous essays. As it usually happens everybody reported about "What. Where. When." Then somehow unnoticeably they got into groups of two, three, four and it started: "Do you remember?..." "And you remember?..." They stayed till midnight, and it was great that nobody remembered what happened on the day (22 June) sixty seven years ago; everybody was more interested in what took place forty year ago.

Yes, forty years later everybody was remembered.
As Confucius said:

"Everybody is dead
except for those, who are alive
and those, who are remembered".

5 July, 2012

© Copyright: Oleg Syedyshev, 2012
Publishing licence #214040200563

Translated by Viktoria Potykinato content ↑


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