Parallel Universe

Peace, hope & understanding.

Part 1: Enough is Enough

Trucker Jeff has a droll sense of humour. A week after the Freedom Convoy arrived in Ottawa, it was clear that journalists - who are supposed to tell the public what’s going on - inhabit a parallel universe. What was happening in those trucks and on the streets was entirely different from what journalists saw.

“Headline,” wrote Jeff on Facebook, beside the photograph above. “Dangerous truckers take woman in wheelchair in driver’s seat so she can fulfill lifetime dream of honking the air horn. Won’t see that on TV.”

The truck in question was a Kenworth that had been driven all the way from Alberta. It was parked near the intersection of Albert and Kent streets. The woman isn’t visible in the photo, but her wheelchair is.

Kids of all ages get a thrill from these horns. Here’s a youngster trying out the one in Jeff’s truck:

And here’s the mom of a toddler having her picture taken with Jeff while standing on his running board:

In that instance, he wrote on Facebook: “Nothing like a hug and a thank you from a stranger to strengthen my stand. She has a two year old daughter that she wants to grow up free.”

Another woman, a nurse named Michelle, handed Jeff a card that said she’d lost her job due to a vaccine mandate in her workplace:

The world is watching and we are cheering you on!…I can’t thank you enough for standing up against the mandates. It’s because of people like you that I have hope of one day returning to the job I love. Thank you for restoring that hope for myself and for so many Canadians. From the bottom of my heart, Thank-you.

And then there’s the perspective of an elderly woman:

Dear Canadian trucker,

My mother is 90 years old. She says this is the second time she is being rescued by Canadians. She’ll never forget the first time when Canadian soldiers came to Holland. They gave their lives for her freedom from the Nazi regime. When she came to Canada, she never dreamed she’d have to be rescued again. This time by Canadian truckers!

It’s worth noticing the final line in the message above. “May you stay…peaceful!” In another photo posted to Facebook by Jeff, someone says: “We are praying that you stay peaceful…” I’ve examined the letters/cards/thankyou notes given to other truckers and have seen that theme before.

The truckers’ friends were a diverse bunch. The small sample on this page spans disabled folk, kids, young moms, medical people, and seniors. The truckers were committed to remaining peaceful. And every day they were urged by their friends to hold that line.