Thursday, April 18, 2024

Author: Mike Murchison

On the Road with Mike MurchisonOpinion/ColumnTrucking

Wrap your hands around a steering wheel, or a copy of the Canadian constitution: the choice is yours

I have heard the term “segregation” my whole life; I never fully identified with it until I was refused use of washrooms in truck stops in Northern Ontario, or made to stand out in the cold at a drive-through window at a fast-food joint. Standing in the drive-through lane with cars, I felt very out of place. Segregated.

  For a while, certain places wouldn’t handle my cash because I travel for a living. Restaurants closed, or downsized to “take-out only” service. I was eating out of paper bags while working and sleeping for days on the road: in the summer heat, and frigid cold of winter.

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On the Road with Mike MurchisonOpinion/ColumnTrucking

The quality of longevity: instant gratification seems to mean near-instant breakdown, too

We, as a country that formerly manufactured things like freezers, lawnmowers, drills, vehicles and a lot of other things, traded our “quality control” overseeing for “ease of convenience” strategies. 

Things are not built to last anymore. They are built to give us a sense of immediate gratification, only to be followed by that horrendous sound of silence. That thing we just bought won’t turn on, light up or go whoosh when the switch thingy is flicked.

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Photo: Mike Murchison
On the Road with Mike MurchisonTrucking

Do you really need that delivery TODAY? Consumerism, friction and Trucking

Missed birthdays, anniversaries special occasions, kids growing up too fast, missed Doctor’s appointments, missed community and church involvement. 

Furthermore: Driving in weather no one in which their right mind would drive. Traffic jams in major cities that go on for hours. Shippers and Receivers who are frantic for a pickup or delivery yet don’t want to see you when you arrive. Customers who will not hesitate to levy a late fine on you if they can get away with it.

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Guest ContributionsOn the Road with Mike MurchisonOpinion/Column

Hygiene standards get flushed as COVID fears subside

Covid come tearing out of China like a cabinet minister out of question period. It consumed all forms of media. Disrupted the entire world economy and the lives of virtually every person on earth.

The phrase ‘social distancing ‘ becomes the cry of the day for nearly three years.

Masks, lockdowns….and hand sanitizers. Businesses are forced to put ‘stringent’ cleaning protocols into practice.

It was nice during the three-year period to walk into a restaurant, truck stop and even a washroom and smell that ‘just cleaned’ scent, which seemed to be present everywhere I went.

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