A 69-year-old truckspotter who is battling cancer has reached out to Big Rigs to thank some friendly local truckies for brightening up his day.
Alan “Poddy” Thompson, from Paterson, NSW, was diagnosed with cancer of the spleen four years ago and has been receiving treatment ever since.
Thompson said he tries to stay positive, but has some down days – and was having one of those days recently after an appointment at the cancer clinic.
To cheer himself up, he headed to the Pacific Highway, where he stationed himself at Heatherbrae for a bit of truckspotting.
“I was there for two hours and over 90 trucks came past in that time,” he said.
“I took heaps of pics, sitting in the shade.
“100 per cent of the drivers waved, blew their horns or both.
“I had a bloody good time, and it really cheered me up.”
Thompson thinks that truckies get a lot of unfair criticism, and he’s never had a bad experience with a truck driver.
“You hear a lot about crashes involving truck drivers, but most of the time it’s not the truck driver who is at fault,” he said.
“I have a lot of respect for truckies and I think they have a great attitude.”
Thompson, who was a public servant for 50 years, has never been a truck driver but is passionate about big rigs.
“I’ve loved trucks ever since I was six years old,” he said.
“My uncle used to drive a coal truck for Gretley Colliery and I went with him a few times during the holidays, back in the 1960s.
“I thought I was bloody king of the road!”
These days, his favourite trucks belong to K S Easter in Brisbane.
“They’re my number one, by a mile,” he said. “I love the look of their trucks.”
Thompson got in contact with Big Rigs because he wanted to share some of his snaps and thank truckies for keeping him going when times get hard.
“Taking photos of trucks the other day made me proud to see the effort made by all the drivers,” he said.
“It was my first venture this year due to my cancer.
“I hope to live long enough to continue my truckspotting.
“I just wanted to take a few minutes to acknowledge the industry that holds Australia together, and say thanks to all the truckies.”