By Peter Carter

Nathan has seen part of the Trans Canada and the Coastal Mountains from the inside of a big rig, and he is hooked on trucking.

A few months back, Today’s Trucking received a letter from the eight-year-old Duncan, B.C. resident telling us about his love of trucks and asking if he could possibly get a Today’s Trucking cap.

When one of our editors called his home to verify some information, Nathan’s mom said that her son has always dreamed of going for a ride in an 18-wheeler.

We posted a story about the request, and the calls from carriers started arriving. The first offer of a ride came from Christine Horodnyk, president of the auto-hauling specialists TFX International. The second volunteer was Challenger President and CEO Dan Einwechter. He was followed in turn by Brian Hopfner of Agrifoods Group of Companies, Don MacKinnon at Wakefield Canada, Paul Cunnington of Victoria-based R&B Trucking, and finally, Ice Road Trucker and ­photographer Shawn Wood.

And so it happened that on sunny Saturday morning Nathan, his brother Kyle, sister Elena, and their parents met up with TFX driver Jeff Lockwood in Langley and the whole family climbed into his beautiful blue Volvo for a trip to Hope and back.

“I love it,” Nathan reported afterward. “I asked the driver about 1,000 questions.”

Nathan also reported that the driver was very friendly and very skillful too.

Mom Sheri said the TFX driver was a fine ambassador for the industry and wowed the family with his positive attitude. “Jeff was just great,” she added. “We all learned so much.”

“Nathan, I mean we all, will remember this the rest of our lives.”

So, the question arises: “Does Nathan want to be a truck driver when he grows up?”

“Well,” he told our reporter, “it looks cool.”

“Be honest,” we told him.

“Right now,” Nathan responded, “On my mind is being a garbage man.”

TFX Driver Jeff Lockwood and Nathan share tales from the road.