Maritime Ride & Pride

by driver Todd Drake

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Well last night just before bed I was thinking of an old trucking friend I met on the highway years ago, he was from Winnipeg and worked for a different company than me at the time, he was young 32 or so when I met him . But he had the old trucking values stop and lend a hand even if it put him behind a few hours!

When I met him it was back in 96, he past me between Hearst int and Kapuskasing Ontario , when he went by me, I grabbed the CB and gave him the all clear to pull back in, I remember his words like it was yesterday, he said "come on Fastrax" lets get going, and that's when a friendship was formed.

He hauled flat bed for road fast, so that day he was only going to Cochrane Ontario a fewhoursdown the road to switch trailers, so we chatted then stopped in Cochrane had lunch while waiting for his trailer to arrive, when it did it had a big compressor on the trailer, barrels unsecured, a 8x10 radiator laying flat with one strap, anyway surprised anything stayed on the trailer, so I helped him for two hours securing everything and then we parted ways, after that it seemed we were always strolling into Toronto at the same time, we became good friends!
Funny thing is about a year later he met a girl and got out of highway trucking, me I got out of it to went on to other things for about 2 years and I lost contact with Don!
Then in 99 I went back working for Fastrax, and my first trip out I landed in Mississauga at the truck stop, who do I meet, yup it was Don and his Fiancée she drove to, and it was his first back out on the highway, and it just happened we were both headed to Winnipeg, so we ran up the highway together when we got to Winnipeg they invited me to supper,
The next day we both had loads going to Vancouver so we ran west but Don wasn't feeling well , we got to Vancouver and parted ways !

3 weeks later on a Wednesday afternoon I was in Halifax, I gotta call from his Fiancée Crystal, Don past away and his funeral was on Friday morning, so I called dispatch an got a load to Winnipeg, funeral was at 10 I got their at 8:30, I was the only person there of his friends from trucking , not one of his family members made it, everyone was either Crystal's family or friends!

He was one of them people that had a good heart, would give a hand even if it put him behind a few hours or late for a delivery, the old school trucking days !

I wanted to share this story cause I haven't met many like him since on the highway and I was thinking about him last night while sitting at a truck stop , then this morning as I'm getting back out on the open road I turn the radio on and the song on the radio is the one his Fiancée played at his funeral

It's been 17 years bud, I still remember like it was yesterday!

R.I.P Don Ranger !!