Alberta trucker Mike Murchison shares his experiences on the road through music, photography and humour.
by Mike Murchison So, let’s weigh in on the shape of the highways in Northern Ontario. I’m referring to Highways 11 and 17. The “Trans Canada” highway. The main east-west corridor that gets you from the Manitoba border down to
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Loading cows into a trailer (a semi-confined space) is not natural to them. They get nervous and anything to calm them down helps.
Me! I talk to them, sing to them. Treat ‘em like I’d want to be treated. Then when I have them loaded, I ease on the accelerator, softly on the brake, gently round the curves.
We don’t want any cows falling. That’s called a ‘downer’. And if one goes down it can get trampled by the others. I’ve been lucky or smart. None down on my loads.
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“Deep Fried Medicare” Photo: Mike Murchison by Mike Murchison Nothing like the rhythm off the road. Wheels humming, pistons stroking…. but what happens when YOU have a stroke…? Driver health is often put on the back burner; it’s often neglected
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So why now? Why haul cows at my age? Hell, I’m 61 years old. I should be looking for the least amount of physical stress that might be available to me.
But no!
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Winter can seem longer when there’s no heat. Worse when its dark.
You think life is picking on you, and you can drift into the Negative realm of your mental capacities.
Breaking down in what seems “The Middle of Nowhere” (don’t bother punching it in Google Maps) can seem inconvenient and maybe cruel.
“Why me? Why now?’”
Well.
Breaking down near the house doesn’t really count in my books. You’ve got to be at least 150 miles from anything for it to count on your fortitude scale.
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It’s out here that Cowboys did and still do make a go of it. Moving the stock from one grazing pasture to another. Punching holes in the watering hole so cattle can access the water. Spreading hay bales across a white landscape to feed the herd.
It still goes on, and I see it all the time. Day and night. The art and business of cowboyography is alive and well. You just need to know where to look.
Trucking is similar in many ways. You’re out there. Cutting through those windswept acres in the dead of winter on a concrete trail.
Ian Tyson was 89 when he passed away December 29th. He will be missed by those who knew him, loved him and those who absorbed his music. Ian Tyson was a phenomenal songwriter and a great singer up until a medical issue took his voice. But even then, he kept singing, playing and recording.
What did he do for me? His music and his words helped a young kid from a big city settle his nerves and showed him, little by little, that he could make a new home. A fresh start in this “Land of Shining Mountains” under that big Alberta sky.
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Never thought I would see the price of a loaf of bread cost seven dollars. Nor did I imagine ground beef upwards of ten dollars per pound.
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In my last article I discussed the federal government’s desire to start levying fines on drivers for violating the Hours-of-Service rules (HOS). Now I’m not an expert on what branch of government handles what and how they work together. Nor do I know the intricate details of how our tax dollars once collected get dispersed once they are collected. But I do have some ideas I’d like to offer on how drivers can comply with the HOS rules and how the different branches of government can help.
We have established that there is a shortage of rest areas, safe havens and just plain acceptable places for drivers to pull into to take their breaks and rest areas.
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