Jack London (born John Griffith Chaney)

1. A good name is better than an expensive suit, and the day of death is better than the day of birth. 2. It is better to go to a house of mourning for the dead than to go to a house of feasting; for this is the end of every man, and the living will apply it to his heart. 3. Lamentation is better than laughter; because with a sad face the heart becomes better. 4.

  Escape
"It's better to be a dead lion than a living dog"
Written by a deserter before his death
On February 8, junior sergeant Alexander Pukhov, armed with a machine gun, escaped from military unit #2133 of the North-Western Border District. Having shot the driver of the Khleb van on the way, he set off towards the border with Estonia. The police managed to block the deserter. In a fight with them, the sergeant shot himself in the head with a machine gun.

Border unit #2133 is located near the village of Lebyazhye, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Its main task is to protect the state border from the sea.
On Sunday morning, junior sergeant Alexander Pukhov, who took over as duty officer at the outpost, opened the weapons room, stole from it an AKS-74 assault rifle, 8 magazines (25 rounds each), 2 bayonets and binoculars, and then fled. His disappearance was discovered after one and a half to two hours. The border post officers immediately notified the officers on duty in the North-Western Border District, the Main Department of Internal Affairs of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region and the FSB. The "Ring" plan was put into effect. Special forces, border guards and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs took part in the operation to search and capture the armed deserter.
At about 18.30 the search group found Pukhov near the village Sosnovy Bor. Seeing the policemen, the deserter shouted: “I am a trespasser of the state border!” - and opened fire from a machine gun.
Pukhov refused the offer to surrender and continued to shoot. Fortunately, the bullets did not hit anyone. Return fire was also fired at the deserter. From time to time the shooting died down and the capture group tried to convince the deserter to lay down his arms.
But he was not going to give up. He gave a note addressed to his parents to the parliamentarians who went to the forest where the sergeant was hiding. “I had to do it, although I lost,” it said. “It’s better to be a dead lion than a living dog.”
During the shootout, Pukhov was wounded in the leg, after which he, probably not finding the best way out, decided to shoot himself. At about 12 o'clock at night he shot himself in the head with a machine gun. When the police found Pukhov, he was still alive. Next to him lay a machine gun, two empty magazines and a scattering of spent cartridges.
On the morning of February 9, doctors operated on the sergeant at the Sosnovy Bor hospital. According to them, Pukhov is now in extremely serious condition.
In all likelihood, it was Pukhov who shot the driver of the Khleb van. His corpse with a gunshot wound to the heart was discovered on February 8 on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. In any case, the series of cartridges left at the crime scene matches the series of cartridges that the sergeant stole from the outpost.
According to the press service of the North-Western Border District, Pukhov, who was drafted into the army in the fall of 1996, “had a psychological breakdown, expressed in a manic display of aggressiveness.” So far, nothing is known about whether Pukhov was on drugs or under the influence at the time of his escape. drunkenness. Although the border guards themselves do not rule out this, as well as the possibility that Pukhov fled due to hazing.
According to the prosecutor's office of the North-Western Border District, which is investigating the incident, in the coming days investigators will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the outpost from which the sergeant escaped.

CRIME DEPARTMENT

(11): And I turned and saw under the sun that it is not to the swift that the race is won, nor to the brave victory, nor to the wise bread, nor to the wise riches, nor to the skillful favor, but time and chance for all of them.

1. “A living dog is better than a dead lion” (1-10)

The words "under the sun" are repeated often in this book. They mean that the author views the world from a human point of view. If we consider death as the end of everything, then this is the fate of everything and everyone. In this case, life “under the sun” is meaningless. However, the author found three truths about life under the sun: 1) it is better to be alive than dead - a living dog is better than a dead lion; 2) do what you do with joy; 3) what you do, do it with all your might.

2. “It is not the nimble who run successfully” (11-18)

And one more thing. Success and happiness do not necessarily come to the capable. God controls every person's life, as well as this world. His wisdom better strength, even if this wisdom is not recognized by others. God bestows His wisdom on those who fear Him and view the world from His perspective.

Prayer: Lord, grant me wisdom; help me to work as hard as I can.

One word: Success does not come to the quick