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TRUCKERS' STORY * Canada - So long CB, may you R.I.P.
CB wasn't just a communications device, it was a cultural phenomenon
Orangeville,ONT,Canada -The Orangeville Citizen, by Arthur Black -11 Sept 2008: -- Seems ludicrous now, but 30 years ago the modern cell phone was as unreachable and futuristic as Mister Spock's phaser. What we had instead were black and shiny hand-held microphones attached by curlicue cords to the underside of our dashboards. It was called CB (for Citizens Band) radio and yes, you did require that one extra component in order to be a dyed-in-theether CB-er... CB wasn't just a communications device, it was a cultural phenomenon. A CB 'slanguage' sprang up. Cops weren't cops; they were 'smokeys' or 'bears'. (a 'smokey on four legs' was a Mountie). Instead of 'hello' a CB-er said 'Come on' with an interrogative lilt at the end. As in: "Toledo Ted, this here's Ruptured Rabbit, come on?'... There were technical problems too. Solar flares, the sheer onslaught of millions of fad-chasing amateurs who clambered aboard the CB bandwagon in the late 70's and early 80's. Reception was unpredictable and haphazard under normal conditions. Hordes of daytrippers swamping the airwaves just made it worse. In the end CB proved to be the technological equivalent of a dinosaur with glass ankles. It collapsed of its own weight... Just as well. I'm a certified technophobe but when I compare those old, clunky CB units and the phoney, mock-jock Good Ol' Boy personas that went with them to the modern mobile phone, a wire-free gizmo smaller than a deck of cards that can take pictures, send emails, download Seinfeld episodes AND allow me to talk with crystal clarity to my cousin in Mississauga or an old school buddy in Melbourne, Australia — even I have to admit that some technological advances are - to quote my Melbourne buddy - bloody marvellous, mate. * Atlas Van Lines survey reveals driver preferences
Evansville,Ind,USA -Truck News -8 Sept 2008: -- An annual survey of Atlas Van Lines drivers suggests I-70 is the most scenic route in the US, that Super 8 provides the cheapest and most convenient hotels and that Dunkin' Donuts is where to go for the best coffee... The annual King of the Road survey by Atlas surveyed more than 550 van operators who typically run 50,000 to 125,000 miles per year...
* Canada - Police say trucker a hero for saving fellow driver
Toronto,ONT,CAN -Truck News -8 Sept 2008: -- The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say a trucker who rescued another from a fiery wreck at the ramp from Hwy. 401 to the Don Valley Parkway last week is a hero... A tractor-trailer ran into an abutment at the ramp last week and burst into flames. However, professional driver Jeremy Hodder of the Miller Group pulled the driver of the truck involved in the wreck from the truck just before it erupted into Flames. The driver of the truck involved in the accident still suffered serious burns to much of his body, but he has been released from hospital according to a report in the Toronto Star...
Labels: truckers' stories
posted by Unknown @ 6:33 AM
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