CLEARING A PATH FORWARD

Vic Manson
 
 
The mountains of British Columbia offer something special. It’s not the scenery so much—that’s what everybody thinks—it’s more about the people who choose to make their life here. In the North Shore Mountains especially, we’ve got a tight-knit community. The people here are made from a hearty stock, absolutely. But more than hearty, they’re helpful. It’s the helpers that keep everyone powering forward, no matter what the mountains have in store.

I spent my career as a teacher in British Columbia, working mostly with children who have special needs. It was such a privilege to work with those little people; they taught me more than you can believe. When I retired, it was sad to put those 36 years aside. But in some respect, I think my time around their youthful energy pushed me to where I am now.
 

In retirement, despite my sweet wife’s best wishes, I’m finding a second wind plowing the mountain roads of the North Shore. It’s dangerous work, no doubt about it, but there’s something in it that makes me feel like a kid again. Maybe it’s plowing a Ram 2500 Laramie® into snowbanks, crunching over ice and snow—not even the biggest of piles can stand in my way. What kid wouldn’t want to wind a powerful truck across snowy mountain roads? It can’t be beat.

But beyond what I get behind the wheel of this Ram 2500 Laramie, I’ve learned it’s also what I give. I mentioned that it takes a hearty, helpful person to make it up here. Well, that’s because Mother Nature has been known to throw us a curve ball now and again, and occasionally one of us will slide off course. With the help of this truck, I’m up and out to lend a hand whenever I’m needed. I’ve spent early mornings and late nights plowing people out of ditches, towing them off the off-roads and setting them back on track.

Like I learned from my students way back when, it’s human nature to enjoy playing, and it’s also human nature to want to help people. Lucky for me, in my snowy British Columbia retirement, I get to do a bit of both. Well, so long as my wife lets me.

GALLERY

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