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Just What the Heck is That Truck Hauling?

We see them every day. Big trucks carrying haz mat passing us on the highways. Each is required to have 4 placards (one facing each direction) on the trailer. Well the one on the front of the trailer can in some instances be on the front of the tractor. But what do they mean? Each placard will have a small number in the bottom corner and a large number in the middle. Some won't have the large number in the middle though.

If the placard is orange that means explosives. A red one means flammable. Yellow is oxidizers. White with vertical red stripes means flammable solids. White means poison. White on top black on bottom indicates corrosive. There are of course variations of this but basically that is what you will be seeing out there on the road. In the middle of some placards and in other cases under the placard will be a 4 digit black number on an orange background indicates the actual material being hauled. Below I have listed some of the most common you will see along with some interesting or sphincter tightening ones that you hope never pass you.

1013 Good ole Carbon Dioxide
1028 R12 Refrigerent
1018 R22 Refrigerant
1049 Hindenburg ballast aka Hydrogen
1056 Watch out Superman Krypton
1070 Nitrous Oxide Laugh it up
1202 Diesel sometimes 1993
1203 Gasoline
1654 Nicotine
1700 Tear Gas Gernades
1076 Phosgene
2810 VX (JHTDC!!!!!!!)
1075 or 1978 Propane
1789 HCL Hydorcloric Acid
2710 GB aka Sarin
3245 Genetically modified micro-organisms

And of course if 1013 is in liquid form the number will be different because of different hazards associated with the transport of it. If you see any out there and are curious email em to me and I will tell you what you passed or what passed you. Or get your own copy of the Emergency Response Guidebook availible in most truck stops. ISBN 1-57943-894-6

13 Things Films Have Taught Us

1) All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices, which have large red read-outs to tell you exactly when it will go off.

2) Should you need to pass yourself off as a German officer it will not be necessary to speak the language, a convincing accent will do.

3) All windows in Paris overlook the Eiffel tower.

4) Most lap top computers are powerful enough to override a bank security system or the communication system of an invading alien civilization.

5) Every single person in martial arts Film has a black belt in karate.

6) When staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear.

7) 1 man shooting at 20 men has more chance of hitting them than 20 men shooting at 1 man if he is the hero.

8) During a police investigation it will be necessary to visit a strip joint at least once.

9) Large studio-type apartments in big cities are affordable by single people with a low wage.

10) The entire British population lives in London.

11) It doesn't matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a martial arts fight; your enemies will attack you one at a time while the others dance around you menacingly.

12) In musicals everyone you meet in the street will know all the words to the songs and the steps to the dances.

13) When captured by an evil international terrorist, guns are not necessary to defeat them, sarcasm and wisecracks are your best weapons.

Last Couragous Person of Frech Descent Dies

MONTREAL - Family and friends of Leo Major describe him as a humble man who wore his battle scars with grace.

The residents of the Dutch city of Zwolle remember him as a hero.

Major is the only Canadian to have received two Distinguished Conduct Medals - the second highest award for gallantry in action after the Victoria Cross - for accomplishments in the Second World and Korean Wars.

He died in Montreal on Oct. 12 at age 87.

In 1940, at 19, the French-Canadian from one of Montreal's toughest working-class east end neighbourhoods joined Montreal's Regiment de la Chaudiere.

He distinguished himself early in his army career

After losing an eye to a grenade on D-Day on the beach in Normandy, he refused a medical evacuation. He claimed he could still sight a rifle with one eye.

"He always said doctors were a bunch of fools," his son Denis said in an interview.

But it was his bravery on a cold, rainy April night in 1945 that won him his first medal and the lasting respect of the people of Zwolle.

On that night, Major single-handedly liberated the city.

It was April 13, 1945 when Pte. Major and another French-Canadian soldier, Willie Arsenault, were sent to scope out the German presence in the Dutch town, about 120 kilometres northeast of Amsterdam.

Arsenault was killed by German machine-gunners on the outskirts of the city.

But Major, using a combination of luck, cunning, and guts, was able to capture Zwolle from the Germans by killing them when he could and setting off enough grenades to create the impression a large Canadian force had entered the city.

By early morning, they had fled the town.

Since he died, the town hall flag has been flying at half-mast, a register has been opened so townspeople can record their condolences, and Lt.-Col. Henri J.L. Schevers from the Dutch embassy attended his Montreal funeral on Saturday.

Betty Redemeyer's stepfather, Hendrik van Gerner, met Major that night. It began a lifetime of friendship as Major, in his later years, frequently travelled back to Holland to speak to schoolchildren about his experiences.

"Because of Leo, (the Allies) knew they didn't need to bomb the city, the Germans were gone," she said.

Redemeyer recalled Major's visits back to Zwolle with fondness.

"He could have been my grandfather," she said.

"He was so sweet. I honoured him so much, just because he was so humble. We realized what he had done for our city was enormous."

Memories of the war haunted Major.

"At night he became quiet," Redemeyer said.

"In his memories he went back to the war. Sometimes I think it was difficult for him."

Major's son Denis said he rarely spoke of his exploits. In fact, he only told his family in the late 1960s about some of what he'd accomplished.

"Even my mother didn't know," Denis said.

"One of the most difficult memories came at the end of the war. He had killed two Germans, and when he approached the bodies he found they were adolescents of 13, 14 years old."

Major still answered the call of duty when in 1950, a Canadian general asked him to serve as a sniper in the Korean War. He left his civilian plumbing practice and went overseas once again, even with lingering injuries from his first tour of duty.

A severe back injury sustained during the Second World War would cause him pain his whole life.

It was in the Korean War that he won his second medal for bravery after leading a company to capture a key hill.

His family lost what Denis called "man of great courage, justice, a very humble man."

So did the people of Zwolle.

"I know that everyone, but everyone, will think of Leo as their liberator," Redemeyer said.

"He will never be forgotten. To us, he really is a hero."

Major is survived by his wife of 57 years, Pauline De Croiselle, his four children and five grand children.

Top Ten List

Top Ten Things You Will NEVER Hear in a John Wayne Movie.

10. "Free Range Organic corn-dodger?"

9. "Maybe if I had sat down and tried to talk to Lucky Ned Pepper I could of avoided this violent
and probably illegal confrontation?"

8. "I feel your pain!"

7. As Genghis Kahn "Feel free to loot and burn but do it in a way that respects their culture."

6." I wonder if our campfire is contributing to global warming?"

5. "Fill your hand you person of suspect birth!"

4. "I think changing your name from Black Bart to The Emo Kid might help your image."

3. "Today my jurisdiction ends....Here!"

2. "What we need out here in the West is more government oversight and regulation."

1. "We should offer them a chance to surrender before we open fire."