Magic Minute 17,000 Feet and Falling! By Laurie Smale MAGIC MINUTE // A tremendous explosion blew flight Lieutenant Neil Lindsay out into space through a gaping hole in the Lancaster’s fuselage, the plane a raging blaze. His parachute unstable, he was now 17,000 ft above enemy territory and falling fast with the Germans already taking […]
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Magic Minute Hello Old Friend By Laurie Smale MAGIC MINUTE // Funny how clever the mind can be in discerning someone you know from a distance even walking away from you. It takes in the way they carry themselves, what they’re wearing, and even the back of their head is factored into an image of
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Magic Minute It’s What The Locals Say By Laurie Smale MAGIC MINUTE // It’s always a bit of a challenge to fit into a different environment when you’re new to it all. An American primary school teacher new to Australia was telling me, “In the staff room at morning tea a young grade three student
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Magic Minute The Easyrider By Laurie Smale MAGIC MINUTE // Ever experienced something so unusual that made you laugh out loud? Well, I was driving along when I heard the throaty note of a serious motorbike coming up behind me. And sure enough, a magnificent machine began to pass me, something straight out of the
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Magic Minute Australian Icon By Laurie Smale MAGIC MINUTE // There was a time Australians would fret if they didn’t have some Vegemite in their luggage… and I’m not joking! Even our Kiwi neighbours say, “What’s with you Australians and your bloody vegemite?” I once shared a long train journey from Vienna with a Canadian
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Magic Minute Knee Deep in Grapes By Laurie Smale MAGIC MINUTE // When I was 15, I found myself knee deep in grapes celebrating their squashing into wine with a Sicilian family… very unusual for an Australian lad in 1962 Melbourne! I enjoyed the festivities so much I ended up living with Peter and Maria
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Magic Minute Day Dream Kindness By Laurie Smale MAGIC MINUTE // Ever daydreamed yourself into trouble? Well, our concrete gang just put the final touches to an artful driveway after hours of toiling in the sun. Younger than the others, I always cleaned the tools and was wheeling them in a barrow full of slurry,
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Magic Minute Life’s Surprises By Laurie Smale MAGIC MINUTE // In life you never know what awaits you around the corner. A guy once phoned me and asked for some help with his public speaking fears. What he didn’t say was, he was the captain of a floating oil-rig ship in Thailand’s Gulf of Tonkin,
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Magic Minute Am I Hearing English? By Laurie Smale MAGIC MINUTE // I was listening to directions from a Scotsman in his thick brogue, but all I heard were meaningless sounds. This challenge of understanding the accents and slang of others doesn’t only fall on the proud Scots. While a German friend of mine was
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Magic Minute Comfortable Conversation By Laurie Smale MAGIC MINUTE // In a friendly conversation I once asked a young guy what he did for a living. “I work with animals,” he said. I immediately thought of a zookeeper or some sort of animal trainer – but he turned out to be a butcher! He told
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