“Cancer balances everything out”

The New Times continues to follow the story of a man who received a terminal diagnosis*

06/24–28/2013

I have been disliked since childhood. It started around the time when I began to speak meaningfully and a lot, that is, at school. At school, I periodically disagreed with teachers, especially with a historian. She read us a story based on articles from Komsomolskaya Pravda, and I argued with her. It’s not customary for us to argue, so my classmates looked askance at me.

In addition, I was not interested in what they were interested in, as a result, I hung out with a couple of the same "extra" people and was going to enter the Fiztekh.

Only I did not enter the Fiztekh. I entered the University. And there I continued to "fool". Even at the military department, in the course of an inhuman experiment to prove the fact of incompatibility between me and the military, I asked stupid questions. Our military from the department went on business trips to Chechnya, as stated - to the counter-terrorist operation. On the subject called "tactics" I asked the teacher-lieutenant colonel (after he traditionally asked: "Any questions?"): "Is there a war in Chechnya or a counter-terrorist operation? And what is the definition of war? I forced the lieutenant colonel to think, but he answered heartily. “There is a war in Chechnya. And war, as Tolstoy said, is the most vile and blackest thing that only happens in human life. My platoon teased me for another month for this question: “What are you, a fool? Question "Any questions?" for this, it is asked in order to hear in response that “no!”

A transfer to MEPhI saved me from a military career. But even there I was a freak. As an employee, I went to butt heads with the installation of a cross on the territory of the university and the opening of the temple. How my colleagues and superiors looked at me! What intimate conversations on the topic “but you need it” were conducted! My eccentricities were to some extent balanced by merit for the time being. Then I left there "... as a sign of disagreement with the opening of religious departments ..."

Cancer saved me.

He balanced and adjusted everything. Now I am a holy fool, poor. I can say and write whatever I please. In Rus', it is customary to love holy fools, in fact, probably, if it were not for them, then there would be no love in Rus' at all. For some reason, it’s not customary for us to even love ourselves, let alone our neighbor. So now I'm asking questions, criticizing, writing articles - and so far I'm getting away with it! Probably, this has not yet entered the rage: in the end, they will also take away the buffoon.