The twenty-first birthday overtook me in the second-class carriage number 8, the passenger train "Moscow-Dnepropetrovsk". Oh, this figure is "8." A bath sheet accompanies me throughout my life. Moreover, it is still not clear whether she brings me happiness or sorrows. I don’t believe in the magic of numbers, but, nevertheless, she (the “eight”) is extremely “prepossessing”, and this is a fact.

Let's start with the elementary, saturated with paranoid trends, but, nevertheless, realities. I was born on the “eighth” month of pregnancy of the mother, and it happened exactly on August 26. That is, 26.08. One "eight" reveals itself immediately, the second is hidden in the sum of the numbers "2 + 6". He grew up in the apartment of parents, which is located at number 8, and, of course, according to the laws of the genre, the apartment itself has a similar sequence number.

In the “eighth” class at a judo training session, I got a triple (Praise to heaven, that only a “triple”, but not ... well, you understood ...) a fracture of the left hand. By devilish coincidence, the X-ray imaging was possible only on the “eighth” day after injury, when the process of bone tissue accretion was in full swing. All would be nothing if it were not for the mistake of a negligent trauma surgeon, who imposed plaster. Bone was not exposed to nature. This unfortunate omission led to the displacement of the broken section by a centimeter on both sides.

After the examination it became clear that surgical intervention could not be done. As a result, the full recovery phase was delayed for more than four months, instead of the predicted, at first, four weeks. And even after that, for another whole year, the doctors did not recommend (although, what is already there, they were forbidden) to give a load to the arm. All this, together, put a fat cross on my wrestling career.

In order not to deviate from the theme of "sacramental eights" in my life, I will add a few more arguments. On the door of the communal room, in which I lived until the fourth year, there was an inscription "448". Not only does the three-digit number at “8” end, but again, after performing a simple mathematical operation with the first two digits, we get “4 + 4” and what? That's right, "8". In this room, there were many joyful, somewhere even fateful, events, and not one significant negative. This makes it possible to believe that not everything is so bad in my relations with the G8.

Let's go further. Passport number begins and ends with "eights". The first car, completely unplanned, became the VAZ-2108. And it was broken (again, unplanned) on the eighth of August. That is, “08. 08 ". In addition ... however, enough of the tediousness and the fruits of inflamed imagination. I can still explain a lot of similar conclusions, but we are not here for this. If you set a goal, you can adjust the arguments and events to any number. Probably, I just like the G8 to consider it as “my figure”, that's all.

So, the twenty-first birthday, as mentioned above, I noted on the way. The development of the events of this day, at first, did not inspire me at all. On the “Russia-Ukraine” transition, our valiant “frontiers” got to me. More precisely, the "frontier". Quite young, with epaulets ensign. I smoked in the vestibule and heard him ask the conductor if there were any “foreigners” in the car. The conductor, without thinking, “leaked” me for a sweet soul. He indicated both the place and the shelf, and even the "FIO", referring to the ticket data that remained in his hands, up to the final destination point.

"Prapor" immediately ordered him to find me, and, accompanied by a passport, escorted to the "intimate conversation" in his own "conductor" compartment. The wish of the “Lord of the Railways” was immediately put into practice, and within a couple of minutes I closed the sliding door of the dragged door behind me.The customs officer with an important view sat at the table, and diligently created the appearance of his own importance, peering at the daddy opened before him.

He knew that I had the identity card of a citizen of Uzbekistan, and he was looking forward to a quick “profit”. What fault he finds. They always find if they want. And there, by the way, and look for nothing. It was enough to look at the temporary registration page. Above three days, according to the law, I stayed in the “white-stone” two more. Not a mortal sin, of course, you can pay off. But somehow I didn’t want to part with the "hard earned."

In the capital of Russia, I was passing through. From my parents I came back from holidays. Of course, I could immediately take a ticket to Dnepropetrovsk, and leave on the day of arrival. Could, if in "Domodedovo" I was not met by "Uzbek Muscovites". We are so guys from our town that we studied in Moscow, called each other. My best friend Mishka commanded the host delegation, so the meeting from the plane smoothly flowed into a prolonged booze. And after it became known that Lizka Morozova (familiar to you, Dear readers, the series of stories "Divide and Conquer") broke up with the guy and "available for rotation", drunk, instantly transformed into a five-day spree.

For registration in a foreign country, I openly "bolt scored", being in a continuous "drunken stupor." And when, at last, he was tired of “pouring in the plum” and changed his mind, it was already too late to undertake anything. All permissible terms were burned out, and in any case I would have been fined on the spot. However, the possibility remained that it would be possible to leave Russia without a thorough check of documents. The border guards often pass through the carriages and slap the seals in their passports, almost without looking. It does not always happen, but it happens. In my case - no luck. Therefore, it was necessary to try to divert the close attention of "prapor" from the identity card. How to implement it became clear after the first word of the customs officer.

- Sit down, - the person in uniform has allowed me, - from where and where you go? Passport come on.

- And who are you going to be? Documents, please, present. And why is this, all of a sudden, you are unkind to me? Or do you think that there is no governing body for your rudeness? - I was outraged by theatrical unreasonable familiarity.

Ensign raised his eyes in surprise, full of bewilderment.

“Ensign Shevchuk,” he said cautiously, and handed me a “crust”, “I did not notice something when my family was with you ... (stumbled) ... surname ... (stumbled again) ... family-yar-n-chal (the ending spoke in syllables and reddened in shame).

I didn’t even expect the “frontier” to collapse so quickly into a verbal “knockdown”. In fact, I still did not have time to say anything, but he was already "baked." Apparently, quite "green" and "unstretched" yet. Borzosti got some companions, but how to practice the whole thing in use and not to shake it - I did not fully understand.

- You, Dear Warrant Officer of the Customs Service Pavel Anatolyevich Shevchuk, and are very familiar, and “poke” me, and they invited me to understand the conversation. I will come to the Dnieper - I will complain to you. Dating - enough, do not hesitate - I turned on the "guy with connections."

- What is the complaint? On me? For what? - fussed "servant of the law."

- Well, what for? For malpractice. Let's not be cunning. You and I understand perfectly well why you called me to a separate room. You need to “cut off” money from me, but I will not give them to you. You will start to be rude to me, it may even threaten you that I will be thrown off the train. It is for this incident that I will complain to you. And by the way, I won't give you money anyway. Fundamentally I will not give.

Pavel Anatolyevich almost choked, proving to me that I was wrong, and called in the compartment only because it was more convenient for him to work this way. He was in good condition in order to offer him the opportunity to rehabilitate himself. I said that if I am mistaken, I am ready to offer my apologies and "peacefully disperse the edges." He opened the passport on the page I needed and handed it to the “serviceman”.He was glad to quickly get rid of "hemorrhoids" in my face, and immediately stamped the departure on the free part of the page. We sincerely thanked each other for their understanding, and I left home, with relief ...