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DEER Y 4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, Sept. 13, 1983 editorial comments COC NN RCS *, = BIRO SORE RII ERINRIR SIRI SIRI EX BERRI NINEK > hi) > » RPOXRKRS " Spy plane ... spy: plane... spy plane -..spy plane... spy plane . ..spy plane ... spy plane chatterbox by Cathy Robb BUS DRIVING BLUES The worst thing about driving a school bus (besides the little thug who wings moldy bologna sandwiches at your head) is getting up so blessed early in the morning. Seems like you're up before the birds and it's usual- ly still dark when you poke your reluctant head out from under warm covers. If you want to shower before you go to work, you'd better set your alarm even earlier. I rarely set my alarm earlier, so for the six months I drove a school bus I was known as a grub. You know Bob and Doug, the hoser brothers? That's how I like to dress (as do many other bus drivers). Plaid shirts or sweat shirts and blue jeans. Trucker's hat and deodorant optional. Not all bus drivers dressed the way I did. Some woke up; at 5 a.m. to shower, shave, iron a shirt, slap on some cologne and slip on some lipstick ( depending on whether you're a girl bus driver or a boy bus driver). I could never understand who these people wanted to impress -- the kids on the bus? They're generally the only human beings (?) you see during your route and they wouldn't notice if you wore a fig leaf to work. The second worst thing about driving a school bus is starting it in the morning. Seniority is a very important thing to have when you're working for a bus company with a union. I had no seniority. There were approximately 150 drivers ahead of me, not a good position to be in because everybody knows that only the drivers with seniority get *'good buses." Everybody else gets the leftovers. Leftovers are difficult to start. For a long time I drove an old '75 Ford (1975 may not be old in car years, but a school bus gets the you know what kicked out of it on a regular basis and is ancient by the time it's five Jears old) with gears that would grind no matter what I did. Good old 567 (its number) was a pain to start in the morning. More often than not, it just refused to start and a mechanic would have to run out and fiddle with the darn thing. Once it was going, I'd get out and do what all bus drivers know as a walkaround. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications demands that every school bus on the road be checked over from roof to wheel each day it is used. After a thorough check under the engine (including a look at the oil level, spark plugs, fan belts, all moving parts), drivers are required to walk around the bus, checking tire pressure with the safety axe (all buses must have an axe) ; making sure all lights are working including flashing lights; clearance lights, signal lights, brake lights and headlights; opening and closing the rear emergency door to make sure it handles easily; and checking the position of mirrors (mirrors provide your main method for checking traffic behind you). The walkaround also includes a check of the bus's interior. A safety axe and a first aid kit must be in place. All contrels must be checked including lights, wipers, emergency brake and clutch. Seats must be secured, the floor free of garbage, the emergency windows must open with ease (and the buzzers working) and last, but not least, when everything is in working order, the driver must sign a log book to certify the bus is okay. If it's not okay, the driver is required to sign the bus into the garage for repairs. Number 567 was always in the garage (or so it seemed). Generally a walkaround takes a maximum 15 minutes but sometimes more depending on whether the vehicle needs oil or gas, rad fluid, brake fluid or whatever. In winter, they take even longer because they're usually done in the dark by freezing bus drivers who wish they could be in Florida. Once you're on the road, stopping periodically to pick up children, you discover another negative aspect to bus driving. Other drivers. Some people will do anything to pass a schol bus, knowing that they stop in unusual places and hold up traffic. I've seen cars drive around me on the right shoulder, the left shoulder, anything to avoid getting stuck behind a big yellow bus. A defensive driving course is a prerequisite to ob- taining a B license (which allows the holder to drive anything on the road except a tractor-trailer or a motor- cycle). It's a good thing it is. If there's one thing you learn while driving a bus it's that you have to be con- stantly on the lookout for other drivers' errors and pro- tect yourself from them. A school bus driver is always aware of the precious cargo he or she carries -- one mistake could mean tragedy. Which leads me to every bus driver's pet peeve -- people who drive through school bus flashing lights. For those who didn't know, driving past a school bus with flashing lights is against the law. The two flashing lights in front and the two in back work on the same principle as stoplights at an intersection. In Ontario, drivers go- ing in both directions must stop for a stationary school bus flashing its red lights. The only exception is on multi-lane highways with median barriers, where only traffic behind the bus must stop. New legislation requires drivers to stop at least 20 metres (about the length of a tractor-trailer) behind school buses and establishes increased penalties for drivers who fail to stop. The $20-100 fine has been rais- ed to $100-500. Second offenders now face fines from $250-1,000 and must appear in court. Offenders will also be assessed six demerit points. Sure, the fines are stiff, but does that stop bozos from driving through? And when they do go through, do you know how hard it is to convict them? A bus driver must be able to describe the vehicle's license plate number, the vehicle itself and the driver. Even police admit the chance of obtaining a conviction is ultra-slim. The only other thing that really bugged me about driving a bus was when I caught the kids standing up (Turn to page 6) SC ---- The Marathon of Hope "A dollar for every Canadian," was Terry Fox's target contribution for his Marathon of Hope. By December 1981, $24.17 million in donations surprass- ed that goal. In 1982, the second annual Terry Fox Run added $2.4 million and it continued into 1983, perpetuating Terry's dream of finding a cure for cancer. Thousands of Canadians took up the torch of a young man dedicated to raising funds for cancer research by running across-Canada from St. John's, Newfoundland to Vancouver, B.C. Terry's story is a special one. He was stricken by cancer -- losing his right leg, and finally his life -- to the disease which affects one in five Canadians. Terry Fox's fight through his Marathon of Hope was inspired by his former basketball coach who brought him a story of an amputee, Dick Traum, who ran in the 1976 New York City Marathon. The story helped give him the courage to not only challenge and overcome his disabili- ty, "but conquer it in such a way that | could never look back and say it disabled me." Letters of appeal for support from Terry to major Canadian businesses said, 'Somewhere the hurting must stop ... "' He was determined to take himself to the limit for the cancer cause. Isadore Sharp, Chairman and President of Four Seasons Hotels, was not satisfied with his company's plans to provide accommodation and food for Terry and his companions. "We have to do more," he said. Four Seasons also pledged two dollars per mile for Terry's 5200 mile run, and ran newspaper and magazine adver- tisements requesting other companies to do the same. News of Terry's plans spread and contributions for Terry's run became a $10 million fund raising event for the Canadian Cancer Society. After eight months of intense training, Terry mark- ed the beginning of his run by dipping his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean at St. John's Harbour. He also filled a jug with Atlantic water, which was to be sym- bolically poured into the Pacific at the end of the journey. Three months after his marathon began, Terry had run through five provinces and was ih Southern Ontario. His visit to Toronto caused entire sections of the city to shut down as people thronged to see the 'Ambassador of Courage." During Toronto's civic reception at Nathan Phillips Square, 10,000 people listened to Terry speak and dug deep into their pockets to the tune of $40,000. - The Marathon of Hope continued through the cities and communities of Ontario until September when Terry arrived in Thunder Bay. On Labour Day, September 1, 1980, Terry was coughing and having trouble breathing. His strength and courage forced him to continue until he had passed the last group of people waiting at the roadside. 2 Finally, at mile 3,339 Terry climbed into the accom- panying van and asked his friend and companion, Doug Alward, to take him to a doctor. The medical diagnosis shocked the nation. Terry's cancer had spread to his lungs. After 144 days and 3,339 miles for the Marathon of Hope, the run was discontinued. The next day Isadore Sharp telegrammed the Fox family with a further commitment that the Four Seasons would organize a fund raising event every year until cancer was beaten. "The Marathon of Hope has just begun. You started it. We will not rest until your dream to find a cure for cancer is realized. *'I am asking every Four Seasons Hotel to organize, along with the local branch of the Canadian Cancer Society, a 'Terry Fox Marathon of Hope' Run (to be held on the first Sunday in October). It will become an annual fund raising event for the 'Terry Fox Cancer Research Fund' and we will not stop until cancer has been beaten. "We will also ask every city and town across Canada to join in on the same day so that you will be running in our hearts and our minds every year until the battle is won. Your courage and determination is an inspira- tion to us all. Our hearts and our prayers are with you. "With deep admiration and affection, Isadore Sharp, Four Seasons Hotels." Together with the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Track and Field Asociation and Fitness and Amateur Sports Canada, the Four Seasons put together an event to perpetuate the Marathon of Hope. Let us keep the promise we made in our hearts to Terry, and "never give up' until his dream of finding a cure for cancer is realized. For pledge sheets, come to the Port Perry Star office. i } ¥ ! 1