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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK BY JOHN WHITE

The following sentence was the last line of my editorial one year ago. “I am sure that everyone will agree that the best view we can have of 2020 is in the rearview mirror.” At that time, I, like most people, was hoping for a better 2021. In some small ways, it was – toilet paper was plentiful. (There goes that sarcasm thing again...) I clearly remember when, in early March 2020, news of the seriousness of the pandemic was just coming out. A month earlier, I had purchased airline tickets to visit my daughter and her family, who live just outside Regina. We left on the 7th, and I am glad that we did. By the 15th, things were closing down. One of the tragedies of the pandemic is how it has affected families to the point of not even being able to say goodbye to a loved one in the final stages of their life. Another tragedy is the number of operations that have been postponed due to lack of room in our hospitals. From August to December 2021, more than 15,000 surgeries and procedures were postponed in Alberta alone. One man had his cardiac surgery postponed three times. At the best of times, seniors are the ones who suffer most from the wait times in our health care system. For example, in BC, hip and knee replacements, from your first appointment with your doctor to seeing a specialist and then finally getting the operation, take at least two years to complete. Now consider if you are an 80-year-old senior who needs a cane or wheelchair to get around. The life expectancy in Canada is 82, by the way. That is not how one of the richest countries in the world should have the men and women who built this country spend their last days. I am on a men’s ball team that plays in the Senior Softball U.S.A. league (SSUSA), and for over 22 years, I have played against U.S. teams and have made many friends playing with and against them. I have always strongly defended our health care system, but I have come to realize that the only advantage we have is our rates. I have talked to many people who have said they can see their doctor one week, see a specialist the following week and schedule a procedure for the next week. However, many of us can’t see a practitioner in 3 weeks. I have a suggestion for our politicians. Stop using millions of our tax dollars to build frivolous projects like outdoor ice rinks to feed some politician’s ego. Stop sending hundreds of millions of our tax dollars to corrupt regimes where less than 20% goes to where it was intended. We have had a steady two-year wait, give or take, for these procedures for years now, unless you are under Workman’s Compensation, which allows you to skip to the front of the line. It is time to spend our tax dollars on opening the hundreds of closed surgical rooms around the country, hiring more doctors and nurses and reducing all surgical wait times to an acceptable level. Once we have caught up and achieved an acceptable level, we only have to maintain that level, like we have been doing for many years now. In short - it is time to put our country and our citizens first.

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RIG OF THE MONTH by John White

When driver Norris Fedato was two months old, he was taken in by his grandparents, who lived in Bralorne, BC. Bralorne, at that time, was a bustling mining town of about 3,000 that serviced the Bralorne and Pioneer mines. The town was about as remote as any place in Southern BC. The only way in and out was over treacherous Mission Mountain to the rail line at Shalath, where you had to load your vehicle on a rail car that would take you to Lillooet. This is his story: I was born in Blairmore, Alberta, and by the time I was two months old, I was living with my grandparents in Bralorne, BC. My Grandpa, Bob Dotto, worked underground at the Bralorne Mine as a timberman. Grandpa Bob was a big man who smoked huge White Owl cigars, and he was, in all respects, my father who didn’t have to be. My Gramma Stephanie, who everyone in our small town called Nanny, was a good old girl who raised me like her son. A timberman’s job is just like it sounds. They are the ones who put Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

the timbers in place in mines to stop rocks from falling and full cave-in. It is a dangerous job that requires a lot of knowledge and more than a bit of nerve. At that time, there were two mines in the area, Pioneer and Bralorne. In later years they merged and became Bralorne Pioneer Mine. Each mine had a fleet of trucks and its own operating authority. Bralorne was a booming mine town of around 3,000 people and not only the richest gold mine in Canada’s history, it also had the third-deepest mine shaft in the world.

Norris Fedato One day I was sitting in school, looking out the window at the trucks going by when my teacher finally lost it on me and asked, “You like trucks don’t you?”, “Yes, I do.” I said. Then, with more than a little sarcasm in her voice, she said, “Then why don’t you quit school and drive a truck?” So I did. That ended my formal education and began my trucking education, which continues to this day. My Grandpa taught me how to drive in his 1948 GMC when I was 14 years old. I would deliver stuff around town and haul gravel for the new medical JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

www.driverschoice.ca clinic. All we had was a flat deck, so a buddy and I had to shovel the gravel on and off by hand. It was hard work, and we could only manage to do two to three loads a day. I did not get paid for this work, but I got free room and board, and I got to drive a truck which was more than enough pay for me. My Grandpa said I didn’t have to pay room and board until I got a paying job, and that was just fine with me. There were two cops in town, and they knew I was too young to drive, but whenever they saw me, they would just wag their fingers and shake their heads. Things were different back then in a small town. Everyone knew each other, and some minor misdemeanours were let go. Common sense was a lot more common back then. When I was finally old enough to get my license, I did my road test with a local policeman who knew me well, and he basically just went through the motions to make it legal. I finally got a paying job delivering groceries around town. I drove a panel truck and stocked shelves, and cleaned up when the deliveries were all done. I made a whopping 95 cents an hour and started paying room and board. I was 16 at the time and would be at the school when they got out for lunch. I would pick up girls from school and drive them around town until I got caught and almost fired for playing instead of working. Small towns are great, but everyone knows you and there is always someone who feels they must let everyone else know. Bralorne was pretty remote back then. The Bridge River road from Gold Bridge to Lillooet had not been built, and the only way in or out by car or truck was over Mission Mountain to Shalath. Then you had to put your car or truck on what they called the gas car that the train pulled to Lillooet. They called it the gas car because it was used to transport your car or pickup. Then you could go to east to Kamloops or south to Lytton and through the Fraser Canyon to Vancouver. It was definitely not something you did in a day. One day, after the road to Lillooet was built, my Grandpa and I went to JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

Princeton to pick up some bunk beds for the mine. It was really foggy out, and he was smoking a cigar, so I asked him if it was foggy out or was it those damn long White Owl cigars he was smoking. He said, “I think it is foggy out there too.” Those cabs were pretty small, and it didn’t take much to fill them up with smoke. There was always something to do outside when I was young. I spent a lot of time on the lake. I had traded a 1947 Dodge car for a plywood boat with a 3 ½ horsepower motor. After getting into the “pops” one day, I told two of my buddies that I wanted to try water skiing. They said it was a crazy idea because it didn’t have enough power. I said it has to work, I have a 100 feet of rope so they could get the boat up to speed before running out of slack and pulling me. I sat on the dock and gave them the signal to go. They took off, and when they hit the end of the rope, I got a butt full of slivers from the dock, and watched as the transom was torn off the boat. The motor ended up at the bottom of the lake, and my buddies used up just about all the swear words they knew (and they knew a lot – some I don’t think I had even heard before) as they swam to shore. After about a year and a half of delivering groceries, I went to work for George Thompson, who owned Thompson Motor Cartage. I drove flat decks and vans from the PGE railway at Shalath over Mission Mountain

to Bralorne, carrying everything from groceries to steel for the mine. Mission Mountain back then was pretty treacherous, and it still can be today. There are three switchbacks on the mountain’s north side and seven on the south side. On top of that, it was often straight ice. So my boss made up special chains for that run that had 2-inch lugs welded on, and believe me, you needed them to run those switchbacks. I worked for him for ten years until he sold the company. I stayed on with the new owners until the mine shut down in 1969, after which I moved to Lillooet. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so all my friends said I should haul logs. There wasn’t much else available, so I incorporated NF Trucking Ltd. and went to work for Evans Products, the local mill in town. I drove for Evans for a year until they decided to sell their trucks. My first truck was one of theirs. It was a 1969 Kenworth, and I got the job, my seniority, chains and radio for $25,000. Some people insist it was the only time anyone got a good deal from Evans Products. One day I was talking to Eddie Thomas, a native Indian, who lived on and logged for the Bridge River Band. He told me he was having trouble getting logging trucks, so I told him that if he guaranteed me four loads a day, I would buy a new truck and haul his logs for him. He agreed, and that

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started a lifelong friendship and a job that lasted thirteen years. I bought two new logging trucks and put my two sons, Bobby and Dean, in them. Dean stayed on with Evans under my seniority because he loved hauling logs and would go around the clock if you let him. Sadly he passed away from Leukemia at the young age of 35. On the other hand, Bobby wasn’t as fussy about hauling logs. He preferred the highway, but there wasn’t a lot of highway hauling at the time, so he did what he had to do. Both my sons were number one drivers. Before they got their license, I took each of them up the mountain to Eddie Thomas’ logging show. I didn’t believe in going with them on their first run. By then, they knew how to drive, and I’ve always thought that it just makes a driver nervous having someone looking over their shoulder. The country around Lillooet is rugged, and the logging roads, for the most part, are steep with long drop-offs. When it was Bobby’s turn, we got to the bottom of the mountain, and I told him to go get a load, but if he bent my bumper, he was fired. When he got back down, I asked him how it was, and he said, “It was fine right up until you scared the hell out of me by threatening to fire me.” Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

All those years of logging around Lillooet, neither my kids nor I ever lost a load. I’m pretty proud of that fact because it is quite a feat for those roads, especially in the winter. I always had fun with Eddie and his crew. We would have a big bonfire and some pops up on the landing on the last run before Christmas. Eddie worked hard, and he had a great sense of humour. He was a joy to work around and a big part of why I hauled logs for so many years. Sadly he passed away just a few years ago. The DOT in town was great. His name was Herbie, and one day I kidded him by saying he was only allowed to give me a fine once a year. He said, “I’ll give you a damn fine any damn time I like.” He told me that he thought I was over length on one trip. “No Way!” I said. I knew it was pretty close, so when he asked me to hold the tape while he measured, like so many drivers before me, I cheated and held it by the front wheel, not the bumper. He stood at the back of the load and shook his head. He said, “I could have sworn you were over length.” The next time I knew I was okay, he again thought I was over and told me to hold the tape. As he turned and walked down the truck, I followed about 20 feet behind him. He turned and asked, “Where do you think you

are going?” I said, “You told me to hold the tape, but you didn’t say where to hold it.” He paused for a moment, and as I watched, I could see the light go on. Then he shook his head and told me to get going on my way, but he let me know in no uncertain terms that if I pulled that stunt again… I always had fancy trucks and took good care of them. Grandpa always said that grease is cheap compared to downtime and the price of new parts. He also said that if you take good care of them, they’ll take care of you. So I passed Grandpa’s philosophy on to my boys by insisting that their trucks were washed and greased every Friday night before they took off for the weekend. After a while, I bought a small freight company that hauled around Lillooet. Then I applied for a motor carrier plate license to haul to Kamloops and back. I got a lot of support from companies and people around town who wrote letters of support. A number of years later, I sold the business to Joe Nickoki, and when he passed away, his daughter sold the company to the Cayoosh Indian Band who still operates it today. When I quit hauling logs, I went to work for Interior Roads which is now Dawson. I drove gravel trucks and snowplows and did road patching in the spring. I loved road patching, and one day, someone, I don’t remember who, gave me the nickname “The Patch King,” and it stuck. After leaving Dawson, I hired on with Garret Moyer, GNS contracting, in Lillooet. I drive a gravel truck, haul machinery around the country, and run backhoe a bit. I have seen a lot of changes in the roads, trucks, and the industry in general. I have seen both good and bad over the year, but all in all, it has been mostly good. I had the opportunity to work with my boys and some great companies. I loved every one of my bosses and I have made a lot of lifelong friends in the industry. Sadly, not all of them are still around, but I loved every minute of it and would not hesitate to do it all over again. JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

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Letters to the Editor John, How does a bureaucrat or senior civil servant crack a Christmas walnut? For political bureaucrats or senior civil servants to crack a Christmas walnut, it takes several months of preparation, multiple studies, hundreds of pages of review. Followed by recommendations to engineers to draft a manual, study the technologies to be used, revise the manual then make recommendations in the form of reports to be debated upon studying the methods and technology for several months longer before passing a draft recommendation to lesser staff members to write several proposals on legislation authorizing the cracking of walnuts that can be officially gazetted - “First draft”. Pending results of the first draft and outcome a second draft during the following year, possibly prepared in time for the following Christmas - “Second draft” gazetted publication. Eventually, by the third year, a result and practice solution may be reached and released - “Final “ gazetted publication. Then it will take a ‘further year’ for the practical solution to be implicated and written into law, receive Royal Assent and be released. “Sum total of frustration four years before you’ll get to eat your Christmas walnut”! If you want your Christmas walnut any faster, give a five-year-old child a nutcracker, and you’ll have your nut in less than 5 minutes, given that’s usually how long the child will take to understand the technology of the nutcracker and actually put it to use. If you need to open one any faster, give it to the family dog. J.Cooper Editor’s note: Do I detect a slight sense of frustration at how slow politicians and public servants move? You forgot the part where the politician says they have been too busy the last four years to get anything done that they promised when elected, but just as soon as they are re-elected, they will build better roads, lower the price of fuel, increase rates and, of course, approve a way of opening a walnut. John, You make some very good points in your Nov/Dec Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

cker azine Pro-Tru Choice Mag s Driver’

editorial, especially that driver shortage in Canada is a myth. Low wages and lack of understanding of what the job entails by government officials top that list. When you add foreign workers who will work for low wages, poor driver training, and poor winter road maintenance because the government farmed it out to the lowest bidder have all contributed to the fact that “truck driver” is no longer an appealing career choice. After 42 years of driving and 2 million accident-free miles, I’m done. T. Hamilton Editor’s note: I always hate to hear of old and obviously good drivers such as yourself leaving the industry. It reminds me of the title of a George Jones song, “Whose Gonna Fill Their Shoes?”

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A Star is Born This story is about when I started hauling cars. I had done long-haul for about 20 years, but it meant being gone from home a lot and living alone. So I decided to hire on with a company in Calgary that did local excavation and gravel hauling. After about four and a half years, I became tired of a familyowned company where you had to deal with brothers, sons and nephews and constantly watch whose toes you stepped on. I was about to quit when the unexpected happened. On a beautiful day in June of 1984, I was out on my motorcycle was going through an intersection when suddenly, from my left side, a Chevy Blazer came through a red light. I went under the front of the Blazer with my bike and was dragged the length of the intersection, finally coming out the rear. Thanks to my helmet, I didn’t get knocked out, so I remembered the whole thing. As I went under the front bumper, I said one bad word, really loud, and many times and somewhere underneath, I realized I was going to have to get a new Harley. The driver had been in Canada one month, didn’t speak English, and didn’t have a driver’s license. After many months of hospital repairs and rehabilitation, I was ready to go back to work but decided not to go back to the excavation company. I wanted a driving job where I would get more exercise. A guy I had worked with at the excavation company came to visit and said, “I’m hauling cars now, and you should try it. You will get lots of exercise loading and tying them down, not to mention all the climbing up and down the trailer.” It sounded interesting, so I applied, and Canadian Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

Auto Carriers hired me. With my driving experience, they said that all they needed to do was train me to handle and deliver the cars with no damage.

By Glen Millard

Glen “The Duck” was born in Saskatchewan. He has driven trucks for 50 years, mostly long hauling. He’s now retired, that is until another adventure comes along.

The next day at 7 am, I went with a younger driver who had less highway experience and an attitude to go with it. Before we left, he said, “I’ll be doing the driving, so all you need to do is watch what I do. I am only doing this because I get an extra $37 to bring you with me, so don’t slow me down.” The trip was from Calgary to Taber and back. That was long enough for me, and I think it was too long for him. The following week I delivered cars around Calgary. The other drivers helped me load in the compound, and I was very slow and very careful, but the dealers were grateful to get their vehicles without damage. After the week, I was hauling all points in Alberta. I loved the work because every load was an adventure, the work was not easy, the hours were long, but the pay was the highest in the industry. I was a company driver for five years, then I bought my first tractor and trailer, and for the next 25 years, I became a broker. I hauled vehicles for 30 years through five different company owners. Looking back, it was the exercise that I needed. It wasn’t easy, but it was not boring. The auto manufacturers of Toyota, General Motors and Peugeot, needed a carrier to haul cars around Alberta while they made commercials.

I applied, but my company was unionized, so two or three senior drivers got the job. They thought they would just haul vehicles out to a site and sleep all day before bringing them back to the yard. Boy, were they surprised! It turned out that it was too much work for them, so they quit after the first day! The company came back to me and asked if I was still interested but not fully understanding the workings of a union, I almost refused. If I wasn’t good enough the first time, why would I want to be the second choice? But, I decided to do it anyway, even if it was hard work and long days - I’d done plenty of that before. On my first day, General Motors wanted me to load six vehicles and be in Banff before daylight so they could film the sunrise at a carwash. No problem! After an hour of filming, we moved to Canmore, about half an hour down the highway. The car they wanted to film was at the front of the trailer, so I had to unload all the cars, which was fine with me. I was getting paid by the hour. This went on all day until dark, but the General Motors people treated me well. Dinner was even brought on-site every day. This went on for a full week. On the last day, the director asked if I would like to be in a “shoot.” I said sure, but I was already getting paid from C.A.C. He said, “Don’t worry, if they use the shots, you will get paid for JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

www.driverschoice.ca 19 each time the commercial is run.” He sent me to the makeup trailer to sign on with the Actors Guild Union and to change my shirt.” I was to do the shoot with an older man that fueled the generators and cleaned up around the site. The director said the storyline was that we were out in the bush cutting wood. We were to stand by. He wanted me to sit on the tailgate of a Chevy pickup loaded with firewood, and the other guy was to stand facing me, and we were to look like we were visiting with each other. He told us not to look at the camera, just listen to him on a walkie-talkie that was hidden in the wood.” I sat down, and the guy with

the radio told the other guy to turn to his left and point at something, and I was to look in the same direction. Then he said to face each other and pretend that one of us told a joke, and then we were both to laugh. We looked at each other, and I don’t know how or why my mind works as it does, but I quickly asked him if he had just passed gas. We both laughed for real, and the producer yelled, “cut.” We went back to work, and I more or less forgot about the whole commercial thing. Then about three months later, my sister phoned and said she saw me in a T.V. commercial

for GMC trucks. About two months later, I received a printout of all times the ad had run and where. It showed on a lot of T.V. stations in North America and even Japan, and I got a flat rate for each time it played. By the end of the year, that commercial earned me almost $10,000. Not bad, I enjoyed the work, and I got paid twice for it. I enjoyed every trip while hauling autos. They were all different, and each had a different adventure. I’ll tell you about working with Toyota and Peugeot another time. They were interesting, but I wasn’t in any of their “shoots.”

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Death of an Old Friend Trucking has long been dubbed an industry filled with Knights of the Road. They always took the high road while meeting travelers on the highway. So much so, that they have often sacrificed their own lives to save those of the general motoring public. Even when the motorists have behaved foolishly and might deserve the sharp end of the stick. The trucker had still given them the benefit of another chance. Trucking was a proud industry. Was, past tense. The days of truckers being the “good guys” is sadly long gone. Yes, there are still many good ones out there. I’ve been graced with very good friends, some true professionals. But those professionals are few and far between. And even more humbling, some of those friends gave their lives on our roadways. My opinion of our craft is now swayed to the point that I can no longer sit back and hope for better. An article I penned a number of years ago spoke to the decline of standards. Not just in the industry, but society in general. That article only scratched the surface of where the trucking industry was heading. It has now become painfully apparent that the race to the bottom has struck a low I didn’t think could have been possible. You can argue all day long about statistics revolving around OOS (out of service), mechanical or fatigue, and how those numbers are manipulated. In fact, as truckers, we were good at arguing about everything. At least the old school ones can. But the numbers have been increasing each year in all aspects of safety, or the lack there of. Collisions, Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

injuries, and fatalities, all on the rise. And the industry has no one to blame but itself. “But it’s government deregulation that started all of this.” Or, “the shippers and receivers are all controlled by corporations that answer to their shareholders.” And then of course there are the racial overtones. You can stuff that where it hurts too. I’ve met a disproportionately high number of truckers of all races, colours, and creeds in the last twenty years that couldn’t drive a sharp stick up their arses if they sat on it. So you can rule that one out. Whatever well thought out, or lamest of excuse you can muster up, the truth is, it comes down to that individual sitting in the left hand seat, just behind the steering wheel.

By Scott Casey

Scott, our Rig of The Month for May 2003 has written “Ghostkeepers” a book about his years as a gun toting truck driver while serving as a Canadian Peacekeeper in the former Yugoslavia.

Hope-Princeton Highway 3. The very highway I cut my teeth on. It’s a stretch of road you better bloody well respect even on the best of days or it will school you hard. Many a disrespectful, arrogant, or ignorant trucker has met their demise on Highway 3. But today, that doesn’t mean anything. An abomination of so called “truckers” are operating without care or concern for anything but being the first to the bottom. The highway closure initially brought on by the floods has forced thousands of commercial vehicles to detour through the only open highway to and from Vancouver BC. Highway 3.

The steady decline in commercial driver skills has been allowed to degrade to a point well beyond where it is no longer retrievable. Even if there was a real desire by the industry or the government itself, which there is not, there is no National Standard that can reverse the deplorable state of today’s trucking industry.

Mother Nature has paralyzed the communities of Merritt, Princeton, Abbotsford, and closed the Coquihalla highway, and that has been both tragic and eye-opening. The flood waters have already crippled the infrastructure that carries much needed relief to the citizens of those towns and outlying regions. Now, to add insult to injury, the Knights who are supposed to be carrying that much needed relief are either held hostage by or are the “meat in the seat” causing the added closures by recklessness.

This is nowhere more prominent recognized today, than on The

Like it or not, this rerouting has showcased the festering new reality

Unfortunately, I’m delivering a message many old truckers have accepted, and even more recent ones who do not want to acknowledge it at all. And that message is this:

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

www.driverschoice.ca 23 of a once noble industry.

resources for it.

Each and every day there are multiple dash cam videos surfacing depicting commercial trucks passing in the most dangerous ways. That’s just the ones that are being filmed and not the incidents that aren’t. Overtaking other commercial vehicles on blind corners, cresting hills, in severe winter conditions with limited visibility, etc. Highway 3 has been closed numerous times for tractortrailer rollovers. Those collisions have run an already overtaxed town, it’s first responders, and tow truck operators beyond their limits in Princeton. Law enforcement cannot police the roads at the alarming need that is required. There just isn’t the

This is truly a case of, “The lunatics are running the asylum.” It’s beyond dangerous. It’s beyond irresponsible. It’s beyond reprehensible and vile. When a trucker’s actions absolutely disregard the safety of other human beings on the road, it defies their moral obligations to be kind, be courteous, to prevent harm, and above all, preserve the lives of others. The trucking industry has lost its way and there is no roadmap that will ever bring it back to its rightful home terminal. We have to accept the Death of an Old Friend.

As a 2nd generation trucker and a writer who has always tried to write positive and often humorous articles about our craft, I found this article extremely difficult to write. Not because I feign from the truth, but because I’ve always tried to maintain a glimmer of hope. It is with sadness and loss of that hope in my profession, that this will be my last article for Pro-Trucker. To those who’ve taken the time to read “Idle Time” for the last 15 plus years, thank you for your support. I’ve truly enjoyed the conversations and people I’ve met through this ride.

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It Starts At the Top You’ve all heard the term trickledown economics, which is a bogus reality since the rich just keep getting richer and the poor poorer. But “the trickle-down effect assumes that “sporting success at the elite sport level descends to the amateur sports level in the sense that people are inspired by sporting success to participate themselves.” My theory works on a similar principle. If the country’s politicians and leaders were to act like statesmen with a sense of calm purpose, tolerance, cooperation, and camaraderie, the inspiration would trickle down to the constituents. There would be less hate, racial tension, and discrimination more productiveness toward really making nations great again. I know it’s a novel idea, maybe even a bit naïve considering the clay with which the population has to mould an honest, hardworking, sleeves-rolled-up candidate.

there are both forwardthinking carriers and hosers who wish to fleece the owneroperators, drivers, and shipper/receivers. If they all set an example of positive thinking, putting the employee first - after all without drivers there is no company - how much more productivity would be generated by folks that just wished to do a creditable job for their supervisors and go home with a smile and a reasonable paycheck which reflects the work ethic.

We’re all thinking about the court cases involving the murders in the Excited States of unarmed, mostly black men. Some have turned out well, meaning the perps got what they deserved, but then there is the odd one like the gun-toting Rittenhouse kid in Kenosha Wisconsin who was acquitted of all counts against him. Perhaps if there had been a different However, just think a minute, if judge and prosecutor like the ones change, real change, was to occur at the in Georgia, the outcome would have top and became conceivable, would it been totally different. The kid doesn’t not have a positive effect as it trickled even live in Wisconsin. He lives in down the ladder to the bottom? Think Illinois and what’s a 17 year old fuzzyabout your own trucking company … cheeked youngster doing with an AR15 assault rifle? Guns are made for one purpose and one purpose Drivers 70-80 CENTS PER MILE! only … to kill … full stop! He put himself in danger and then pled self defense, duh! Super B & tridem step White privilege 2 yrs exp & acceptable abstract is alive and well Western Canada & USA in America. Some dedicated runs And don’t think for one second

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By Ed Murdoch

Ed has held a commercial drivers license for 65 years and has spent the better part of 50 years on the road. You can get Ed’s new book at www.drivingthroughmymemories.ca

it doesn’t exist here in Canada too. Racial discrimination is at an alltime high. More Canadians think that racism here is much worse than it was even one year ago. Every normal human on earth has the same physical makeup under the skin. If we were all colour blind we’d all get along much better. Every race has its geniuses and remarkable individuals that stand out in a crowd. Every race also has its ne’er-do-wells, crime nuts and sluggards. If the principle I propose were applied to every nation around the globe I wonder what a difference it would make. When I say it starts at the top you, dear reader, may be the top of your family. Think of the impact your behaviour has on your offspring every time they see you. I shudder when I think back to my early fatherhood wishing that I could relive some of those reckless days and nights. Fortunately my three kids all turned out well despite my shenanigans, each with his/her own special talents. I am exquisitely proud of each of them and bless them they have all reached middle age gratefully intact, the eldest ready to apply for his CPP, the other two close behind. If change starts at the top as I suggest it ought to, I have changed dramatically mostly in the last decade and a half. I have made a vow to myself to replace every negative thought with a positive one. Negativity has no JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

www.driverschoice.ca 29 reward. Positivity is its own reward! Instead of saying, “Sorry to keep you waiting,” I now say, “Thank you for your patience!” I am grateful for all the positive attention I have received and attempt to perform at least one random act of kindness daily. When I began long-hauling in 1956 there were no bunks in which to relax, just a bench seat bolted to the floor. No air conditioning, heaters that barely threw heat in August let alone January, so one drove all year round with a window open to provide circulation. Most transmissions I drove had two

sticks and from 10 up to 30 forward gears … but hell, I was truckin’. The result of pushing these antiques down the road is severe osteoarthritis but most of the time my memories and pics tell me it was all worth it. I am grateful to wake up each morning and to see what I am able to do in order to keep the smile on my face and in my soul. It doesn’t get easier but it’s very much worth the struggle. And the best part, peeps take notice!

children wish you all the very best of this the New Year. May fortune smile on you and yours. Perhaps read this epistle once or more again to let it sink in … then pass it on. Remember it’s wintertime. The severe weather we are experiencing because of global warming and climate change does not spare any vehicle or driver. Anticipate and be ready for evasive action which may save you or another motorist or passenger a ton of grief. Be well and be safe … 10-4!

I, The Birddawg, and my adult

Pardon Me? She married and had 13 children. Her husband died. She married again and had 7 more children. Again, her husband died. But, she remarried and this time had 5 more children. Alas, she finally died. Standing before her coffin, the preacher prayed for her. He thanked The Lord for this very loving woman and said, “Lord, they’re finally together.” One mourner leaned over and quietly asked her friend, “Do you think he means her first, second or third husband?” The friend replied, “I think he means her legs.”

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Stop The Insanity Albert Einstein stated, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result” well, I believe he was onto something. I have spent a good 25+ years in trucking and have seen this play out repeatedly. However, this time leaves me shaking my head more than almost any other time because I’m left questioning my own sanity! For anyone who doesn’t know my story, I grew up around trucks and a 3rd generation trucking company that was resilient and successful. I left for my own personal reasons, not the least of which was trying to make something I could call my own. When I was on the way out to start on my own, my uncle said to me, “You can have one truck, maybe two… or 10. Anywhere in between is a struggle.” What did he know? He only had thirty-odd years of running a trucking company through several ups and downs in the economy. Heck, I couldn’t remember a time when they had less than ten trucks. What did he know? Although I’m sure you can see there was wisdom in these words, I had to prove it myself. I am very fortunate to have gone to school at MacEwan for Commerce, which gave me a good knowledge base in all business areas. That, and being around Whitecourt Transport my whole life, had me pretty confident in building a trucking company. I started with a solid business plan with a budget, Pro-forma financials and easily attainable goals. Before purchasing my truck, I obtained a contract to haul logs, single shift, and leased a single bay shop. After I had everything in place, I bought a preemissions Western Star with a trailer and got ready to go to work. Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans” - John Lennon. The next part of my story is just that. In fact, there is no way I could have planned it. I drove to the bush to get my first load of logs with my very own truck, proud as could be. Five minutes after turning around in the block, I was lying on the ground with my foot on one side of the pole trailer and my body on the other. Definitely not in the plan! Lucky for me, a metal plate in my leg from a break ten years earlier prevented amputation but still left me with a cast up to my knee and 6-8 weeks of recovery. I found a driver that day, and the truck barely missed a beat. Thankfully, I had prepared for the worst and kept cash in the bank, so it wasn’t going to kill my business to pay a driver while I sat on my ass. My business plan had called for growing slowly and adding a second truck only after a successful first year. As I sat in my living room looking at the numbers and seeing what my driver was doing in the single truck, I thought adding a second truck for me to drive would be almost twice as good! So by the time my cast was off for a week, I was on my way to Prince George to buy unit #002 and then a trailer. While this was a slight deviation from the plan, it seemed to work, I added another driver to double shift #2 with me, and we were on our way to making a profit before spring break-up. Then we took a bigger turn from the plan. Number 3 happened because I knew there was no double shift work in the summer, and I wanted to keep everyone busy. So another truck meant we needed another trailer, and

By Greg Evasiuk Greg is a 3rd generation trucker with over 1 million miles and 22 years in trucking.

by fall, there was another. While the plan gathered dust in the corner, I ran around trying to wear all the hats, plug the holes, and pay all the bills. It wasn’t until I was in debt up to my eyeballs and run off my ass that I looked back at my business plan. The shambles of my company, if you could even call it that, was nowhere near resembling what I had so carefully laid out. I downsized, changed industries and tried to get back to good but it was just too far gone. So in 2015, after less than six years in business, I closed the doors. I never got to ten trucks. My uncle was right. After one and two, it was all struggle. Fast forward to December of 2019. After a time in truck sales and some contract work, I decided to give it another go. Again I made a new business plan, which only included one truck. There were goals, checkpoints, and fail-safes all designed to make sure we stayed on track. No broken bones or delusions of grandeur were going to derail me this time, and then COVID… With all the uncertainty surrounding the industry and the world in April of 2020, I broke from my plan of staying in Western Canada and told my employer to send me anywhere they had to - just keep me busy! They never disappointed, and I kept that one truck rolling and was making good money, but I wasn’t holding up to my home time plan. The stress came to a head in November of JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

www.driverschoice.ca 33 2020, and I found myself leasing on to yet a different company.

November, I was run ragged and hit the pause button.

For the first month and a bit, it was just what the plan called for, regular steady runs and home on the weekends. Then I was asked if I could put on a second truck. Not in the plan and barely in the budget, but this was good steady work, and I could handle two trucks, right? This is the part of the story where I question my sanity. Once again, I was in a spot where my cash would be stretched, and I would have to rely on cash flow to float the business. By September of this year, I was putting a third truck and trailer on the road in no better position than I had when I went from one to two. In

I am sharing this story partly for my own therapy and in part to help anyone who might find themselves in this position. While I am glad I caught myself and started downsizing, I wouldn’t wish the stress of the past year on anyone. There’s a tremendous amount of opportunity in trucking right now, rates have been on the rise, and there’s a shortage of trucks in most markets. It doesn’t mean you need to fill that void. Make a good plan for what you want out of the industry, follow it, and make adjustments if you have to, but stay true to your aim. Do the best job you can and know that

the numbers don’t lie. You can’t add equipment to fix a cash flow problem. Work smarter, not harder. These are all statements I made to myself. I read them back every day as a reminder to stop the insanity. There is a line in an Eric Church song about chasing life instead of dollar bills, and I firmly believe that if you work more on building the life you want, the dollars will come to you. After only a month of having just one truck again, I’m back to doing the things I love, and my finances are improving. But, more importantly, I am happier, and the people around me are happier.

If you ever owned or leased a truck, bus or other vehicle with certain Caterpillar engines, you may be entitled to a payment from a class action settlement. Pour lire cet avis en français: www.EngineSettlement.ca A Settlement has been reached in class action lawsuits in Canada about whether Caterpillar Inc. and Caterpillar of Canada Corp. (“Caterpillar”) brand EPA 2007 Compliant C13 and C15 diesel engines with Advanced Emissions Combustion Reduction Technology (“ACERT”) manufactured in 2005,2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, including the Caterpillar Regeneration System (“CRS”) [“Subject Engines”], failed to work reliably, causing them to lose horsepower and shut down, requiring Caterpillar-authorized dealer technicians to repair the Subject Engines which they supposedly could not effectively do. Caterpillar denies the allegations in the lawsuit, and a Court has not decided who is right. Who is Included? The Settlement Class includes all persons in Canada who are original purchasers or original lessees, subsequent purchasers or subsequent lessees, (including but not limited to those having some rights to residual purchase of vehicles at lease end) of a vehicle powered by a Subject Engine. The Quebec Class Action is for Quebec residents, while the Ontario Class Action is for residents in the rest of Canada. What are the Settlement Terms? The Settlement establishes an $8 million Settlement Fund for the benefit of the Class. All Class members who submit an Approved Claim will be eligible to receive a pro rata share of the Net Settlement Fund according to the following guidelines: A. Class Members whose engines experienced no CRS Related Repairs are eligible to receive (but not guaranteed), $500, for each Subject Engine, but no more under any circumstance. B. Class Members whose engines experienced one to five qualified CRS Related Repairs performed on or before the Execution Date are eligible to receive (but not guaranteed) an initial amount of $5,000, up to a maximum of $15,000 per Subject Engine. C. Class Members whose engines experienced six or more qualified CRS Related Repairs performed on or before the Execution Date are eligible to receive (but not guaranteed) an initial amount of $10,000, up to a maximum of $30,000 per Subject Engine. Payments to eligible claimants may be adjusted pro rata (up, but not higher than the maximums described above, or down) depending on the number of Approved Claims filed and Engines represented therein, and the net amount of the Settlement Fund available to pay claims. No money will be returned to the Defendants; any excess money will be donated to charity. How do I file a Claim? In order to receive a cash payment, you must complete and submit a valid Claim. Claim Forms are available at www.EngineSettlement.ca or by calling 1-855-659-2900. The deadline to file your claim will be published on the website after the Settlement is approved, but will not be earlier than May 18, 2022. Your Other Options. If you do not want to be legally bound by the Settlement, and therefore not be entitled to the Settlement Benefits as described above, you must exclude yourself by January 3, 2022. If you do not timely exclude yourself, you will release any claims you may have against Caterpillar relating to the lawsuit. You may object to the Settlement by January 12, 2022. A detailed Long-Form Notice is available on the settlement website www.EngineSettlement.ca that explains how to exclude yourself or how to object, if you so choose. The Courts will hold Settlement Approval Hearings on January 27, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec and on January 31, 2022 in Ottawa, Ontario to consider whether to approve the Settlement, and whether to approve a request for lawyers’ fees and costs of up to 30% of the Settlement Fund plus applicable taxes as well as a Service Award of $20,000 to the Class Representatives. You may appear at the hearing, either yourself or through a lawyer hired by you, but you do not have to. For more information, please call the toll-free number or visit the website below. www.EngineSettlement.ca

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Canadian Trucking Industry Rallies to Support Those Affected by BC Disaster Raising $50,000 for The Canadian Red Cross’s British Columbia Floods and Extreme Weather Appeal. Mississauga, ON December 23, 2021 − Trucks for Change (T4C), in conjunction with Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) and Canada’s Provincial trucking associations, recently rallied the Canadian trucking industry to donate to the Canadian Red Cross to support those impacted by flooding in BC. The Red Cross is providing cots, blankets, and clean up kits to communities upon request, and is providing comfort and care to people impacted by the floods. “Trucks For Change has a longstanding and cooperative relationship with the Canadian Red Cross that typically involves moving shipments of emergency supplies throughout Canada to support their emergency efforts”, said Scott Smith, chair of the not-for-profit Trucks For Change. “The flooding in BC is typically the type of disaster for which T4C’s trucking services would have been requested.” However, the unusual circumstances involving short and long-term road closures meant that Trucks For Change had to “pivot its operations to offer help to fellow Canadians” and a challenge to raise Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

donations from the Canadian trucking industry was launched. Today, the industry has reached its goal of $50,000, and continues to add to the amount raised.

support communities by helping food-insecure and other vulnerable Canadians. trucksforchange.org twitter: TrucksForChange linkedin: trucks-for-change-network.

“We want to thank Trucks For Change and the Canadian trucking industry for their support as we continue to assist those impacted by the devasting floods in British Columbia,” said Melanie Soler, vicepresident, emergency management at the Canadian Red Cross. “Our teams will be there to support people and communities as they recover in the weeks and months ahead.”

About The Canadian Trucking Alliance: A federation of provincial trucking associations representing a broad cross section of the trucking industry with over 4,500 carriers, owner operators, and industry suppliers. Headquartered in Toronto, and with provincial offices in the various provinces, the CTA represents the industry’s viewpoint on national and international policy, regulatory and legislative issues, that affect the trucking industry. https://cantruck. ca/

On behalf of the trucking industry, we thank all the individuals, companies, and associations for their generous contributions and help in communicating the need to support the Canadian Red Cross’s emergency relief efforts. Want to donate? Visit the trucking industry portal https:// bit.ly/311fNbs or https://secure. redcross.ca/registrant/donate. aspx?eventid=369372&langpref=enCA About Trucks For Change: is a non-profit organization that was founded to support Canadian communities through its membership of leading socially-responsible transportation and logistics providers. Its charity partners are trusted social organizations that

About the Canadian Red Cross: Here in Canada and overseas, the Red Cross stands ready to help people before, during and after a disaster. As a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – which is made up of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and 192 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies – the Canadian Red Cross is dedicated to helping people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supporting them in strengthening their resilience. @RedCrossCanada Facebook.com/CanadianRedCross Red Cross donor inquiries: WeCare@ redcross.ca or 1-800-418-1111 JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

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Bush Repairs and Trucking Dad and I were way up in Northern Alberta and had just loaded some Machinery that had been repossessed and was to be taken to Calgary for repair, refurbishment, repaint and then resold. We were loaded almost to max, and the weather was horrible, with snow coming down so hard you could not see more than a trailer length ahead. With Dad driving, we rounded a corner and there in front of us was a complete mudflap and hanger. Dad had no chance to miss it, so he tried to straddle it in the hope it would stay put and not fly up. Guess what? Murphy raised his head... The flap somehow was sucked up by our trailer and ripped the airlines off the right side of both axles. Needless to say, we lost our air and the trailer locked up. Dad managed to get most of the way off the road, and we proceeded to check it out. Both copper airlines were broken, so we attempted a repair in the cold dark night in about a foot of snow. But no matter how we tried, there was no way the copper lines would reach. Right about then, Dad was cursing up a storm

that should have been enough to melt all the snow, but that didn’t seem to be working. A snowplow showed up just about that time, stopped and asked if we needed help. Dad explained what had happened, and the driver stuck his head under the trailer and looked to see what I was doing. He said he had some cage bolts, and we could use them to block off the airlines until we got down the road to a garage. This was the best idea so far, so after I sat in the truck for a half hour to warm up, I crawled back underneath and proceeded. Do you know how hard it is to cage two brakes in the middle of the night with a pair of vise-grips and a small flashlight? I finally got the brakes caged and now to the airlines. I decided the easiest thing to do was to crimp the lines and then clamp them with vise-grips and wire them up out of the way. I managed to get things

By Dave Madill Dave Madill was Pro-Trucker Magazine’s Rig of the Month in June of 2001 and he has been entertaining us with his poetry ever since. Dave has published three books of poems that are available by special order through Chapters Book Stores.

looking OK and holding air, and away we went. Now going by the book, we should have stopped at the first place we could get repairs made, but not my Dad. A day later, we pulled into Calgary and unloaded and by the time we had the load off, Dad had arranged for another load that would take us to Toronto and then to home. By the time we made it home, we had crossed nine scales and not once did we get red-lighted. Once home, it was a simple matter to run new airlines and fix things back to normal, although I was sorely tempted to leave the cage bolts in place and hope Dad would get inspected.

Jill

Dave Madill

It was a cold and dirty night, rain was pouring down, I saw her there beside the road; she was miles from any town. Standing beside the highway, afraid and all alone Hoping someone would come along and help her find her home. I helped her up into the cab to keep her dry and warm, She was such a little thing; wouldn’t do no harm. I gave her a couple cookies; it was all I had to eat, She nibbled them so daintily, there upon the seat. Later on that very night, she climbed into my bed, She snuggled in beside me, strange thoughts ran through my head. We never did find her home; yet she is with me still, She’s a pretty little puppy; oh yeah - I call her Jill.

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Bad Decisions In the dim and distant past, when I was a young trucker, Green Shield Stamps were very popular. I think they were just called green stamps across the pond; they were ideal for the times when money was tight. Unlike our modern throwaway culture, ‘luxury’ items had to be saved for, whether by saving stamps in a book or giving a couple of shillings a week to the Provident man. At the time I was working in a small four truck firm with my wife’s uncle Mitch driving an old Atkinson cabover with a 220 Cummins and Fuller transmission. More importantly, at that time, it also had twin fuel tanks. Whenever I was passing through the northeast of England, I liked to fuel up at a small station just off the old A1 called The Boot and Shoe. They always gave truckers double Green Shield Stamps to encourage as many as possible to increase their diesel sales. I wasn’t too far from the station and already imagined the pile of stamps I would get when I filled the two nearempty tanks to the brim. Then the old Cummins started to stutter. I looked down at the fuel gauge, and it wasn’t just hovering above empty anymore. Instead, the needle was resting on the empty stop. There was nothing else for it, and I was miles from anywhere, not even walking distance to a handy fuel

station. So I had to go and find a call box and phone the boss to tell him I had “broken down” luckily, I didn’t have long to wait, and it was quite a nice day. The breakdown man that came to my rescue was old school. A couple of five-gallon jerry cans of fuel were among his must-have spares of fan belts and the like. So rather than waste his time, I told him right away of my miscalculation and was soon on my way. Another bad decision I made didn’t have the repercussions it could’ve had. I was working for a company hauling whisky in tanks and barrels loaded into a box van. Unlike today there was no extra qualification back then to haul what is now considered a dangerous load. But, again, it was at the start of my driving career, and I was a very inexperienced young driver. It was winter, and the boss needed a driver to run up to Arbroath to pick up a full load of barrels for delivery to a bottling plant. Before he arrived at me, all the other drivers he’d asked had sick relatives they couldn’t leave or their granny’s funeral to go to. As I was still in any experience is good experience frame of mind, of

By Colin Black Colin Black lives in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland and has been driving truck for over 40 years. His story shows us once again that the problems drivers face are universal.

course, I jumped at the chance to go to Arbroath, snow? What snow. The boss knew the ink on my licence was hardly even dry and said, try and stick to the coast roads where ever you can. It wasn’t an ideal situation hauling an empty dry box van in the snow, but hey ho, when you’re none the wiser, there’s nothing to fear. I had been out for a drive, a month or so before, in the direction I was going. The weather had been better, and I had been driving my car so when I saw the sign for the small glen I thought, oh that’s a nice road. I’ll go that way. The realization of my stupidity soon dawned as I drove down this narrow twisting road that had no other tyre tracks on it. Of course, there were no other tracks on it. Not even the locals came this way when it was thick with snow. But, whether it was good luck or I was more skilful than the boss gave me credit for, I managed through and got to Arbroath that night, ready to load in the morning. Just one more step on the ladder of experience.

Truth be told In Africa, every morning a gazelle awakens knowing that it must outrun the fastest lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning, a lion wakes up knowing it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. Moral of the story: It makes no difference whether you are a gazelle or a lion: When the sun comes up, you had better be hauling butt. Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

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Music and Memories I don’t know about anyone else, but I seem to get more anxious about winter driving every year. Maybe it’s partly due to social media because you hear and see more accidents, the number of vehicles in the incident seems to have increased, you see the severity of them and most look like they could have been prevented if people slowed down. If I were the only one on the road during the storm, I could drive all day, not that I would want to. It’s everyone else’s driving that worries me. The last couple of trips, I was proactive and checked the weather that was coming up. I skipped out on my home time so that I could drop and hook in the yard and head south ahead of the storm. It sucks to give up home time but doing a reset in beautiful weather in Oklahoma wasn’t all that bad. Plus, getting ahead of the storm gave me a much more peaceful drive for the week. The winter and holidays also are a hard time for me. If you have been reading my articles for a while now, you know that I lost my mom several years back. I haven’t ever been able to get all the Christmas spirit back that I once had. Music has been such a big part of helping me express myself and get thoughts out because I believe that several songs were written with me in mind. I feel extra emotional around the holidays, so the lyrics of certain songs really spark some sensitivity in me. I came across a song on Spotify the other day that I had never heard before. It’s called Sunday Drive by Brett Eldredge. Do you ever hear a song that you know you need to listen to on repeat because each time that you listen to it, you hear more meaning? I listened to this song for hours on repeat and burst into tears as the song brought up strong memories for me. If you get a chance to watch the video on YouTube, Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

you may agree with me. Brett Eldredge sings, “The sun warms your soul just like an old friend Singing songs along that ribbon of a road And everyone you love is sitting there so close You’re never thinking that you’d ever get old No, you’ll never get old Just watching the world through an open window Trees lined up like dominoes This old car could find its own way home It’s the ordinary things that mean so much That’s where I learned it all from them To fight, to love, to laugh again Man, I thought we were only wasting time Out on a Sunday drive, oh” As a family, we used to go on weekend drives quite often. I think that’s why the idea of becoming a truck driver appealed to me. I loved listening to music and staring out the window. Now I actually get paid to do it!! I never knew where we were going on these drives, and it never really mattered. My mom always said that if there were a road to the moon, I would be on it. My parents always had an idea where they wanted to go and what they wanted to see. The destination wasn’t always the most important to me. I think I was always more excited wondering if we would get to eat out somewhere. I remember we did these drives until I was in my late teens, and I still remember that my mom would put her hand on my dad’s knee while he drove. I might have thought seeing that was a bit embarrassing at the time

By Myrna Chartrand Myrna was born and raised in Oak Point, Manitoba and was our April 2019 Rig of the Month driver.

because heaven forbid your parents were being romantic!!! But now that I think back, that was really sweet. My parents are definitely an example of what a good relationship is made of. Another “new to me” song that hit me lately is Sparrow by Ashley McBryde. She sings, “For a sparrow, wouldn’t trade nothing for the way it feels to fly It ain’t fair though, how you miss the ground when you’re out here in the sky You’re higher than you’ve ever been Lonely like you never been Waiting on the wind to take you home” I love being out on the road and sometimes I feel like I don’t know how to have a life at home anymore. Being in my truck is my comfort zone. I have been so fortunate to take part in amazing opportunities in trucking. From writing these articles, speaking at a conference, to being in calendars, videos and the latest, being asked by my boss to take part in a CBC The National news report. Many great things have happened for me in the last 12 years on the road, but then I think about all that I’ve missed at home while I was out participating in trucking functions. It gets lonely after a while when you hear about everything you missed. I’m on a high from having a successful career, but I think maybe I need more balance JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

www.driverschoice.ca 43 in life. I think I will forever struggle with that one. As an avid listener of Spotify, I look forward to the end of the year summary of my listening minutes and my most played songs, artists and genres. It’s really neat because they make a little presentation for you, so it’s cool to see

it all wrapped up, which is why they call this little video “Wrapped.” My minutes listened for 2021 was 90168 minutes. That’s a lot of staring out the window listening to music!! This is a little bit off-topic, but it leaves this article on a good note. I got my latest blood work back from

the clinic. I got a call saying that I am out of the diabetic range!! My hard work paid off, and I got my sugar level down to 6.0, which still means I’m prediabetic, but I don’t need medication. This feeling has been wonderful, and it’s the motivation I needed to keep consistent with my steps of getting healthier!

Take a Message A Missouri farmer got in his pickup and drove to a neighbouring farm and knocked at the farmhouse door. A young boy about 12 opened the door. “Is yer paw home?” the farmer asked. No sir, he ain’t,” the boy replied. “He went into town.” Well, said the farmer, is yer maw here?” No, sir, she ain’t here neither. She went into town with paw.” “How about your brother, Howard? Is he here?” “He went with maw and paw.” The farmer stood there for a few minutes, shifting from one foot to the other and mumbling to himself. “Is there anything I can do fer ya?” the boy asked politely. “I knows where all the tools are, if you want to borry one. Or maybe I could take a message fer paw.” “Well,” said the farmer uncomfortably, “I really wanted to talk to yer paw. It’s about your brother Howard getting my daughter, Pearly Mae, pregnant.” The boy considered for a moment. “You would have to talk to Pa about that”, he finally conceded. “If it helps you any, I know that Pa charges $50 for the bull and $25 for the boar hog, but I really don’t know how much he gets fer Howard.”

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INDEX Acme Transport Ltd. ........................................................................................ 03

TRUCKING SERVICES

Berry & Smith ..................................................................................................... 19 APNA Truck Show .............................................................................. 20

Centurion Trucking Inc. .................................................................................. 46

Big Rig Power ....................................................................................... 04

Golden Express Trucking Inc. ......................................................................... 17

B & W Insurance ............................................................................. 02 & 06

Grant Transport Inc. ......................................................................................... 28

Cool Heat Truck Parts .......................................................................... 27

Key West Express Ltd. ..................................................................................... 16

Engine Settelment ............................................................................... 33

Light Speed Logistics Inc. ................................................................... 09 & 45

Howes Lubricator ......................................................................... 24 & 25

North Coast Trucking Ltd. ............................................................................. 13

Hutch Systems ......................................................................................... 48

Pahal Transport Inc. ........................................................................................ 05

Mobalign Services Inc. ......................................................................... 23

Preferred Carriers Inc. ..................................................................................... 30

Norris & Co. .............................................................................................. 31

Royal City Trucking ........................................................................................... 41

Ocean Trailer ............................................................................................ 21 Trucking App .......................................................................................... 35

Select Classic Carriers ..................................................................................... 08

Trucker’s Pages ....................................................................................... 26

SGL Trucking Ltd. .............................................................................................. 15

Trucker’s Together Fuel Services ................................................... 39

Transam Carriers Inc. .................................................................................... 47

Truck West Collision .............................................................................. 29

Watt & Stewart Trucking Inc. ........................................................................ 37

18 A STAR IS BORN Glen Millard

22 DEATH OF AN OLD FRIEND Scott Casey

IT STARTS AT THE TOP Ed Murdoch

Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

Westland Insurance ............................................................................. 34

Greg Evasiuk

Myrna Chartrand

STOP THE INSANITY

BUSH REPAIRS AND TRUCKING

MUSIC AND MEMORIES

Dave Madill

40 BAD DECISIONS Colin Black

RIG OF THE MONTH NORRIS FEDATO

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