Syedyshev Oleg
Syedyshev Oleg

Humorous Essays Based on students' memories

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

Essay 53. Three thanks

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexis I

Patriarch of Moscow and
All Russia Alexis I

When I was a student I sometimes had my adventurist inclinations not only felt by myself, but put into real action. It looked like in our family, my parents did not have them, the adventurist inclinations, and in my case ... You remember Mikhail Yevdokimov's sketch: "... A red mug. My father's mug is not red, but my mug is so red...". So my case is exactly the same.
Well, and how else my actions could be called if not adventurism? See for yourself. I do not remember, whether it was in my second or third year at the institute, when I, being baptized in secret from my parents by my grandmother Praskovia Mikhaylovna, but an atheist by my immature convictions, wrote a letter to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexis I.

I asked him for his blessing of my medical practice. And I received the answer. His Eminence, of course, realized that I was an atheist, though blessed me and persistently recommended me to come to the Church and God. Though wind in my mind and the surrounding atheism did not allow me to follow the recommendations of Alexis I till the patriarchate of Alexis II. I do not know, how you would estimate my action, but I consider it as adventurism.

And here is another manifestation of my adventurist inclinations. That was closer to the time of graduation from the institute. The winner among women of the Figure Skating World Championship became a German figure skater Christine Errat; and I wrote her a letter with a request of an autograph on a bet. I remember we received her answer together with Arkasha Blyakher at the main post office, and I remember the way Yakov Davidovitch Vitebskiy, a surgeon, doctor of medical sciences, an Honored doctor of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and in addition to that a philatelist, looked at the envelope with an art stamp of the German Democratic Republic, when I was having my specialization under his supervision after my graduation from the institute, and together with Arkasha brought the envelope to boast about it. Arkasha told me that Yakov Davidovitch was a devotee stamp collector.

Doctor of Medical Sciences Y.D.Vitebskiy

Doctor of Medical
Sciences Y.D.Vitebskiy

I remember how I made a fine gesture then and gave the stamp to Vitebskiy together with the envelope. So the letter to Christine Errat I believe to be pure adventurism.

Now, as I have remembered my youth, in order to promote and popularize the "Humorous Essays" I again stepped on the slippery way of adventurism. Yes, you've guessed it right, I wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper "Kuzbass Medic" with a proposal of a heading "Humorous Essays of a 1972 Graduate". I sincerely believed that the topics and the stories would be interesting to the modern students, that one-two or three essays in an issue would make it more fun and add some light humor into its official style. However, as it usually happens, my letter got not to the person I had wanted it to be received by.

Nevertheless, it was also read by a man, who liked the "Humorous Stories", and I am even going to quote an extract from his letter addressed to me:


"... After reading the "Essays" I can state that your sketches will occupy a well deserved place in the chronicle of Alma mater. I took a liberty to place a link to the complete text of the "Humorous Essays" on the site of the Therapeutic Department and send a copy of your e-mail to the editor of the "Kuzbass Medic" Olga Petrovna Tarasova..."

Well, all I can do now is to wait for what Olga Petrovna Tarasova will say about that, but even if she rejects my idea of the headline, anyway I am glad that I met with Sergey Vladimirovitch Cherno and gladly thanked him not less than three times. And let it be our secret, because of what reason the three thanks were said.

31 August, 2011.

© Copyright: Oleg Syedyshev, 2012
Publishing licence #21204260418

Translated by Viktoria Potykinato content