Does I look like an asshole?

Saturday. There is no one at home, because the wife with the children went on a short excursion trip to the open spaces of the homeland, on the occasion of winter school holidays. I am sitting at home and looking out the window, because I never look at the TV anymore. It is joyful for me, the old man, that winter is now so tolerant and sparing. The temperature of 0 degrees completely caresses me, comforts, suits me. No need to have a warm hat, bots, pants now. They gave a pension yesterday. Walk in your own capital, like some Frenchman in the Champs of Champs or Turks, where the same temperature is now in the once snowy Muscovy.

And my wife is the name of the Olympics Ignatievna. She received this name not at all because she was born during the Olympics-80. When, in a good way, excited athletes were released with a clear conscience of the ridiculous Olympic Misha slowly disappearing in the heavens, who landed back only now. And by the way, he was not at all toy, but a purely concrete creative beast not from folklore. She was named the Olympics in honor of her grandmother, whose grandmother was in turn also called the Olympics. It happens that in some families, the names of their ancestors are still honored, despite the fact that seventy years of the country was ruled by strict communists who loved to call old -regime people to their KGB and ask: "How is your last name correctly written?"

Thank God that the times are now completely different. Is it true? The wind of change blows again in sails. I drank tea with dryers, as it should be temporarily a lonely Russian pensioner, and thought that, thank God, foam subsided and near the Kremlin, aggressive teenagers in white sheets that were depraved with the permission of the authorities no longer roam. In free time from this hard work, time -waggers of foreign embassies and throwing out the unfriendly diplomats with perishable products, which are now quite a lot in stores, are not an example of a totalitarian past.

I also thought that I had certain hopes for the coming to the power of Medvedev. He seems to me a reasonable person, restrained, pragmatic, not subject to emotional twist of ideology, not prone to the final transformation of my country into a police state. In which, as in a madhouse from the song of Galich, "you want to go to bed, you want to sing songs."

Of course, I would not want to be disappointed, of course, after all, after all, it is known that any power corrupts in percentage of its absolutiness. Therefore, it is time for all of us, relatives, finally document that the president is not a god, a king or a hero, but a manager hired by citizens. Who does not like the word "manager", please - "manager of the country's affairs." And his officials are not boyars, but just clerks on salaries. And the people are not cattle, not a PIL, which "shows everything." Everything is all, but not all.

But then the phone suddenly rang, and you will understand from the further one why I shared my wife’s secret secret with you.

A floating voice in the tube said:

• This ... can Ignatievna Olympics?

• And who asks her? - I politely asked how they taught in childhood, although not me, because we have never had a phone on poverty.

• This is calling with a desza, ”the caller explained. - We need to know whether she will vote or not?

• Where and for whom to vote?

• How for whom? For the new president.

• Imagine, please, ”I stared, remembering the strict school of the formation of our fragile democracy in the early 90s.

• Why do you need it? - my interlocutor was sincerely surprised.

• Then that someone you are - the address, phone, position - and why you need to know whether it will go to vote or not. He wants - he will go, he wants - no. What do you have to do? Or maybe you are not from the des?

• Yes, from the dese, I, from the des. - We now make lists at the place of residence, but she did not vote last time.

• And what if she, for example, said that she would not go to vote, would you delete her from the lists? Do you understand what you say? Do you understand that this is a violation of Russian legislation for which you will suffer a harsh, but fair punishment? Where did you, by the way, got this phone number? And who gave you the information - voted, did not vote? - I volunteered.

• Oh well, - the man was offended, - I am humanly with him, and he performs something ... how this one!

• What are you spending time on this asshole, - suddenly joined our conversation by someone's extraneous voice.

Short beeps were heard. I went to the mirror and looked at it for a long time. No, I don’t seem to look like an asshole. However, who can say with confidence, how exactly they look? .. Everything is fine, only the tea has cooled down. But then there is still a lot of drying.