I was 15 in 1968 and in Intermediate at Concordia College in Malvern.
My eldest brother, Peter, who was almost 11 years older than me, came to teach at the school. First, he taught mathematics, then music. He also coached me in football.
I could not get away from him. He was music master until he retired in 2002. You could say a real VIP.
My Dad was a fairly powerful patent attorney. Peter and Dad came up with an idea at the dinner table. Not sure it was original. The idea was we are all part of a parallel universe; an alternate reality, you could say. This alternate reality is populated by beings parallel to us. You could not hear them, see them, feel them, or even be aware of their existence. Another universe within us.
It’s where we went when we died, if we died. Do they die with us? Not necessarily reincarnation, although this was discussed.
This was total science fiction to me; mind blowing, but Peter and Dad were geniuses to me.
At 15, forget distant universes, what is going on within us, I’m thinking.
Peter was a no-nonsense teacher. No fun in his class. When I told my school mates of Peter’s theories, they said, ‘Yeah, well, all you Schmidts are a bunch of nuts.’
When I sprouted this back at the kitchen table, Peter retorted, ‘O, for crying out loud Rob. What’s said at the kitchen table stays at the kitchen table. They’re probably right. You are a nut. Alternate reality? Not at my school.’
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