2018 On the Road Again #7

I was up and on the road again before 7:00. The sky was overcast and it looked as if a cool and perhaps wet day was on offering. I was hoping that the wind, which even in town felt strong, would be enough to push the clouds away. I got a ride quickly - however like so many of my rides to come, it was a short ride - about half way to the highway. I am not complaining but my driver, an older gentleman, seemed to feel as if he deserved a lot of praise for driving me for ten minutes.

Where the road through Portage merges into the Trans-Canada is not a great place to stand. The cars and trucks that were coming from Winnipeg were cruising along at a100+ KPH and the cars leaving Portage needed to match that pace to merge. But I had been here before and I knew that eventually someone would stop. And someone did.

My driver was only going to Brandon, a drive of about 90 minutes. Not the long drive across the Prairies that I had hoped for but a good start. There were always cars passing through Brandon that were getting ready for the long haul.

My newest driver was driving a small company van. He was a repair man for a window and door company that serviced their warranties throughout Manitoba. He struck me as a very competent man who was good at his job and who enjoyed it. He was proud to work for a company (and rightly so) who had decided that they would only produce quality products and then ensured that they remained good.

My driver had very clear morals and was comfortable in living them. His personal faith had guided him throughout his life and for him, they seemed to have been the right one. He had raised his kids well. While he had not always approved of their choices, he had supported them and now it appeared as if the family was strong and supportive to each other. It was not the most dynamic start to my journey either in terms of how far we went or because who the driver was, but it was a good drive in that it was relaxing and enjoyable ; it got me further down the road with someone who felt safe.

As we were reaching the end of our too brief journey together he told me that he had picked me up because he believed that people needed to demonstrate or live out their faith; that we needed to do good. He was not preaching or trying to convert me, he was just saying that his picking me up was his way of sharing his blessing with someone else. It is hard to argue with someone when they have helped you just because they wanted to help.