Aiden needs abetting
'When I moved to Sydney in the '70s, I used to see a bearded man wheeling a mysterious wooden box on wheels around the Hyde Park area,' writes Donald Hawes of Peel. 'There was even a wooden ramp built over the park steps near Museum Station, just wide enough for his vehicle. It was only when his death was announced that I discovered that he was a knife sharpener (C8) and local identity.'
John Boddington of Dalton remembers a similar local identity: 'His name was Harold Wright ('The Sharpening King') and his extraordinary sharpening wagon is now in the National Museum. I have a strong suspicion that Heath Robinson had a hand in the design. I can recall seeing Harold's wagon as a small boy a long time ago and longing to have a bash at turning all the stuff on.'
'While I try to keep my Ukrainian stories light-hearted, Doug McLaughlin's memories of subs bombing Sydney in WWII (C8) have certainly triggered some recent trauma,' admits Chris Keane. 'A few days ago I was at home in Seattle when my phone started blowing up with messages from 'my' kids in Ukraine. Their previously unscathed city was being actively targeted with Russian missiles and drones. Over the course of a fraught hour I was inundated with messages like 'I'm really scared', 'it's very close, the ground is shaking and everyone is crying' and 'in case I don't see you again, thanks for everything'. Of course, right now as I write, I've started crying again. Perhaps Doug can provide more details about when the nightmares will dissipate?'
The lobster discussion (C8) goes offshore with former New York knife fancier Ellen Kassel of Collaroy again on point: 'Honeymoon – sailing down Maine. Lobster, lobster, lobster. Day three of honeymoon – big bad rash all over! Didn't know which new thing in my life was causing it. Thankfully, it was the lobsters.'
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Gadaleta is travelling lite into the warzone – he's taking one bag, his new leg and a large jar of Vegemite. The Ukraine veteran is also taking a new tattoo. Inked on to his right calf are the words 'Lucky Ducky' with a picture of a gun-toting cartoon duck. Below that, in Ukrainian, is written: 'One leg is here - and one leg is in Kursk. Gadaleta had been serving with Ukraine's 80th Brigade when he was injured. His call sign was 'Dundee' — after Crocodile Dundee. He remembers December 8, 2024, as the day that changed his life. His six-man unit was on a mission in Kursk and approaching a target through deep snow when he triggered the anti-personnel mine. 'Literally like one step and there's this bright light and I thought our guys accidentally dropped a grenade on me,' he said. 'I thought these guys just hit me by accident. 'At first, I didn't feel anything. 'Someone yelled out are you alright? and I said 'bro my leg's gone. He said what? I said bro it's gone'.' Casey Gadaleta after stepping on the landmine in Kursk, Russia Credit: Unknown / 7NEWS A firefight began and the Russians advanced on his position. When he tried to grab his weapon, he realised his hand was in pieces. But Gadaleta's calls for help went unanswered. He was told he had to use his medical training and fend for himself, using tourniquets to stem the bleeding. 'I'm begging them, I'm breaking down. I shouted, 'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna freeze to death. I'm bleeding so much'.' He said he went 20 hours without first aid, or pain relief, sitting in minus 4 degrees and soaked in blood. 'I honestly thought, yeah, I'm gonna die.' He was finally taken back into Ukraine and hospitalised in Kyiv. But he claims a three-week wait for surgery cost him his lower leg. 'My leg died, it basically turned to a black colour. They had to amputate,' he said. He also has shrapnel in his arm and his face. Gadaleta has a Bachelor of Science and two diplomas but made the decision to volunteer for the Ukraine Armed Forces after friends sent him photos and details of Russian war crimes. 'I was disgusted with it and I thought, how can a human being do that to another human being?' 'And I just thought, 'I want to give my life to this cause'.' 'I paid my own way here. I paid for my rent and food. I sold my investment property to cover it all.' 'I wasn't naive about it. I knew that with all the casualties it wasn't a matter of if, but when I was injured.' He calls Russian President Vladimir Putin 'a modern-day Hitler'. He says he was horrified when he saw the news reports from Alaska on the weekend of President Donald Trump giving Putin a red-carpet welcome. The landmine left him an amputee after it ripped apart his foot and hand. Credit: Unknown / 7NEWS He called it an insult to Ukraine. 'I didn't think it was real. I thought it was A.I,' he said. 'That's how crazy I thought it was.' His dedication and sacrifice for Ukraine has already been recognised by the nation's Ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko. Myroshnychenko rang Gadaleta to offer thanks. 'For me personally, and all Ukrainian people, you're a hero,' he told him this year. 'Thank you very much.' Seven Australians are believed to have been killed in Ukraine and the Russians have captured and imprisoned Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins. Gadaleta knows he has put life and limb on the line already for Ukraine. He lost the latter but has no fear of losing it all.
