1000 Words or Less

  A CHRISTMAS STORY                                                                                             DECEMBER 1, 2023   Like many country girls, Mary found living in a rural town stifling.  Chudleigh was a pretty enough little town but, when Mary was 17, she had had enough of the narrowness of village life and told her parents she was off to see what else the world had to offer.  They were not happy at all about it but Mary was a headstrong girl and would not be swayed. Her father made sure...

I suppose it was my own fault; if I hadn’t spoken so warmly of my experiences in the Philippines, nobody would have even thought that they would like to see what I was talking about. My wife and I had been involved in a Rotary Project with a local filipino club and had made several trips there over the past couple of years.     I had shown photographs and shared letters from friends we had made and I had not realised the impression this reporting was having on other members.   One night, after the regular meeting, the President came to me and said, “John, several members have suggested that we make an official visit to our sister-club in the Philippines and, because you have been there a few times, I’d like you to organise it.”   I was very happy with the idea and contacted a good friend in the Philippines to start making the arrangements.  Eventually, there were four Rotarians who made the trip, accompanied by their wives. Perhaps someone pulled some ...

  I suppose our family is just like any other.     Some members have had more success in life than others but, at the end of the day, we all have a roof over our heads and enough to eat.     I have five cousins: 2 girls and 3 boys; there’s 5 years between the oldest and the youngest and, while we were growing up there was a lot of rivalry among us, comparing toys, marks in school, clothes (especially by the girls) but, generally, we got on well.   One Christmas, though, I realised that, in one important aspect of life, I stood out as superior to all the others.  We were all together at our usual family Christmas and all the kids were in Nana’s backyard getting over the big Christmas lunch.  Unconsciously, in my contentment, I began to whistle Jingle Bells.  A thought struck me.  Wouldn’t it be good if we could put together a whistling choir and the adults would be delighted if we showed how clever we were by whistling...

  “He had blue eyes, you know,” Brian said, and looked at me to see my reaction.   “Who?” I asked.   “Him,” said Brian, pointing to the drawing of Mathew Brady on the wall in front of us.  We had popped into the Tasmanian Museum to get out of the rain and we were filling in time at the Bushranger exhibit.  The drawing was sepia in colour so you’d be hard-pressed to know if the eyes were blue or otherwise.   “Aren’t you going to ask me how I know?” smirked Brian.   Playing the game, I answered, “How do you know?”   “Because I met him last night and they’re definitely blue.”   “It says here that he was hanged on May 4, 1826.  How on earth can you say that you met him?” I asked, wondering whether I was making a mistake in prolonging this conversation.   Brian lowered his voice.  “Because my father has invented a time machine and, last night, we transported ourselves back 200 years and met Mathew Brady at the Ro...

  I’ve looked over the fence from time to and noticed our neighbour.     He’s an elderly bloke, like me, but old-fashioned in his dress and he avoids catching my eye.     I’ve decided he was a farmer in his younger days but is now retired and his family has moved him into this cottage in a suburban street in Longford.     He was probably very surprised a few years ago when the developers moved in over his back fence, buying a couple of large blocks next to him and demolishing the shabby cottages, making room for the construction of five modern units.   Of course, he would have had to live through many months of the noise of construction, and the dust, and the persistent radios of the builders.  However, the time would come at last when the final Top-40 song was heard, and the last builder’s ute drove away.  Our neighbour might have shown mild interest when the Estate Agent’s signs were erected, and might have noticed in passing...

  MYSTERY TRAIN                                                                                                APRIL 28, 2023     Saroo didn’t know that his life was more unusual than any other child’s.  He didn’t realise that most children his age, in almost every country in the world usually had more than one meal a day, and every day, in fact.  Saroo didn’t know that most children of his age in almost every country of the world went to school nearly every day.  He woul...