Archive for the ‘Relationships’ Category

Once again I have been far too lax about posting to this blog.  Maybe I can beg off with the excuse that I’ve been out gathering new material.  Anybody buy that?

Well it’s partly true.  Marilyn and I decided that in order to afford a holiday this year and spend some time together we would have to combine business with pleasure.  So on the 21st of June she threw her kit bag in the truck with mine and we headed off on our great summer getaway.

Hartland Covered Bridge

First stop Florenceville, NB where Marilyn met some of the Fastrax office staff for the first time, including the lady who was in charge of my orientation, and my dispatcher.  From there we went to Grand Falls where we picked up a load of frozen pizzas destined for Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. (Marilyn says “Don’t forget the garlic fingers”).

Northern Ontario

Marilyn kept the camera clicking all across New Brunswick, Quebec, and Northern Ontario into Manitoba.  Sure glad we got the 16 GB memory stick.  Of course, the wildlife I’ve seen on previous trips decided not to appear this time, but she did manage to snag a lot of scenery and at least one deer.

After delivering our load in Portage we had time to visit the Fort la Reine Museum, and she was able to get many interesting photos.  It just so happened that they were holding  Heritage Day celebrations and we had the opportunity to sample cinnamon rolls baked in an authentic outdoor clay oven.  A little burnt on top but tasty nonetheless.

Covered Wagon Fort la Reine Museum

After spending the morning at the museum we picked up our load at McCain’s and headed west for Edmonton.  With a bit of time to spare we stopped in at Ste. Rose du Lac, Manitoba for a visit with my aunt and uncle.  We enjoyed a delicious supper and a nice visit which included a couple of cousins of mine and their families.

We arrived in Edmonton Sunday evening and met up with a whole herd of family at the Yellowhead Truckstop.  My brother and his wife and one of their sons, two cousins and their husbands, and a nephew with his wife and children whom we had never met before as they came on the scene after we last left Alberta 23 years ago.  Sure doesn’t seem that long.

We delivered our load in Edmonton early Monday morning then dropped the trailer in the yard, and with the companies kind permission headed off bobtail for the north country.  First stop Grande Prairie where we had a nice visit with an old family friend and his recent bride and adopted son.

Come and get it!

Then, on to Spirit River to spend a few days on the farm with my sister and her husband.  First on the agenda was supper at a niece’s home in Wanham where we met her family for the first time, as well as another niece and her family and a nephew now 19 whom we had never met due to our move back to Nova Scotia.  A total of 13 of us at table including three grand nephews and one grand niece.

On Wednesday we accepted an invitation to the home of another cousin of mine on their farm near Woking.  Her husband had build an outdoor brick oven and we enjoyed a feast of home made pizza cooked to perfection in five minutes flat.  Since he had built it some distance from the house and at the bottom of a hill, he also got his exercise between pizzas.  It’s not every day one gets pizza delivered by scoop shovel, but it was delicious nonetheless.

Pizza on a shovel

Thursday morning, Canada Day, saw us bidding a sad farewell and starting on our return to Edmonton to go back to work.  A short visit in Wanham to allow the young ones a visit inside the truck and get a couple of treats to remember us by and then on the road again.  We stopped for a visit and supper with a cousin and her husband in Spruce Grove then on to the truck stop in Edmonton to await a load assignment in the morning.

More of our working holiday adventures to come ,and more details of our farm visit for you animal lovers out there.

I was crossing back into Canada this morning from Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario via the Ambassador Bridge. This bridge, as usual is undergoing repairs, with the accompanying lane restrictions. I was struck by the thought that life is a series of bridges.

Birth is a bridge between wherever we were waiting, to the beginning of our life on planet earth. Education is a bridge from our childhood into the responsibilities of adulthood.

Marriage is a bridge between the selfishness of ourselves, to building a cohesive family unit. Employment is the bridge which carries us from depending on others to self sufficiency and the pride of accomplishment.

Retirement is the bridge that takes us from a life of productivity and experience, through a period of reflection and self evaluation into a time for reaping the rewards of our efforts. Boy am I ever looking forward to that one.

And the final bridge carries us into the great unknown. Possibly the next great adventure in the ongoing saga that is our souls existence. Some folks agonize over this one or try to avoid thinking about it. I view it as just another great bridge I haven’t had a chance to drive on yet. I’m just hoping its not under construction when I get to it.

Another Transportation Route

Well here it is the middle of May and I’ve been home for six days now.  That’s not quite as good as it sounds since I originally planned to be home only three days.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love being home.  It’s a pleasant change being able to spend some time with Marilyn, even when she puts me to work with chores around the house.

This happens sometime in the trucking industry.  Too many trucks at one end of the country and not enough loads.  Seems like there are one or two such slowdowns every year.  A friend of mine with the same company, who only came as far east as Toronto this week, is running full out and getting lots of miles.

But here it is the 14th of the month, second last day of the two week pay period, and I’ve only got one weeks running in.  That is definitely going to put a dent in the end of the month pay cheque.

No use complaining.  Just have to be thankful I’ve been enjoying more home cooking than usual and that we’ve been able to go out to a restaurant together a couple of times.  We had time to rearrange the livingroom, wash and service my truck, set up the bird feeders so Marilyn can get more bird photos. Man has she ever got more bird photos!

Birds aren't the only ones who benefit from feeders. Click on the picture to view more in the Gallery.

I know there are other driver’s experiencing this same slowdown right now.  I hope they are enjoying the time at home, not stuck out on the road somewhere, staring at the same trucks stop parking lot.  Been there, done that.

*****

Recently I’ve been thinking about the level of respect for truck drivers and the trucking industry in general.

In Europe and other parts of the world, trucking is an honorable profession and drivers are looked up to and respected. While this was the case in North America 30 or 40 years ago, not so much today.

In fact I get the impression some days that those of us who hold onto a steering wheel for a living are considered to be 3rd or even 4th class citizens.

Oh sure, family members and close friends, and other members of the trucking community still tolerate us and even give us a grudging degree of respect. But the majority of the population at large look down their noses and give short shrift to this once noble profession.

I’d like to suggest a few possible reasons for this change in public opinion and attitudes.

First off, we have become a much faster paced and self absorbed society. Everyone is in a hurry. Common courtesy has all but disappeared. People, especially city dwellers and commuters have no time to waste behind heavily laden, slower moving vehicles. In fact they’re in such a hurry, common sense is a thing of the past. Tailgating, cutting others off and ignoring the use of turn signals are becoming common occurrences.

Of course some truck drivers have brought a lot of this disrespect on themselves. There are those who throw their pee bottles and garbage out in parking lots and ditches never giving a thought to the person who has to clean up after them.

They park in places they shouldn’t with total disregard for other motorists. Some are unkempt, unwashed, loud and obnoxious. Of course many others in society are those things too, but they don’t all drive 70 to 120 foot long, noisy, smelly,  obstructions to draw attention to themselves. .

Years ago truck drivers were kings of the highway. They were the  ones you could depend upon to stop and give assistance if you ran out of gas, had a flat tire or were involved in an accident. Truckers have been known to stop crimes, save lives, and even give their lives to avoid harming others.

While that remains true to a very small extent today, in this day and age stopping to give assistance could just as easily result in having a gun or a knife stuck in your face and your wallet lightened or your truck and load hijacked.

There is one truth that folks who resent or despise truckers and trucks need to keep uppermost in their minds though.

There is not an article of food in their kitchens or restaurants, nor a stitch of clothing on their bodies, nor any component of their homes, cars, or leisure equipment that hasn’t spent considerable time in the back of a truck. If you even have such an insignificant item as a tissue in your possession with which to blow your nose…… thank a trucker.

Wow I can’t believe a whole month has passed since my last post.  It seems like only a few weeks. 

Well it has been a few weeks and very busy ones at that.  I am happy to report that my move to Fastrax Transportation may just be the smartest move I ever made.  It’s just too bad I didn’t get smart sooner.

As they say, better late than never, unless of course you’re talking about the big three; war, death, and taxes.  In those cases never is definitely preferable.

The downside, if there is a downside to employment with Fastrax, is I’ve only been home three days in the last month and even worse than that, I wasn’t home for Marilyn’s birthday this month.  It was an important milestone too.  I won’t tell you how old she is but it rhymes with “fix tea”. Groan.

The upsides to the new job, and there are several, is that I have been able to run a legal logbook, I’ve been able to do the majority of my sleeping at night, and my work days have been spent 10% waiting and 90% driving.  A huge difference from my last employer.

Another big bonus has been the chance to see some of my relatives who I haven’t seen in years.  I had breakfast with my Uncle David Gray in Winnipeg. 89 years young, still the same guy I remember from the last time I saw him 23 years ago.  Then my Aunt Maisie and Uncle Oliver Benson now semi-retired from the farm and living in Ste. Rose du Lac made the hours drive down to meet me for supper at Neepawa.  By the way, the Brahma Restaurant just east of Neepawa on Highway 16 is a pretty good place to eat.  And if you’re in the market for western wear they have a shop for that too.

In Edmonton my brother Allan and his wife Pat who live in Beaumont, made the hour drive through rush hour traffic to join me at the Yellowhead truck stop for pie and coffee and a long chat to catch up on things.  My cousin Hazel and her husband Dave drove in from Spruce Grove to join in the party and to catch up on the family news.  I’m looking forward to many more trips to Manitoba and Alberta as I have a hockey sock full of relatives I haven’t seen in a very long time.

As of this writing I’m back in Winnipeg, having delivered a big load of beer this morning.  I’m sitting at the Flying-J writing this post as my logbook resets so I can pick up a load in Brandon tomorrow and head down to Laredo, TX over the weekend.  Sure beats Jersey and Hunt’s Point any day.