50 cents/min is chump change. I pay over $2 a minute whenever I'm in the states.

 

:lol: Yeah, that would probably fit in with the percentage who know who our VP is, or something.

 

I'm still not totally comfortable with 'WTF' so pretend I didn't write that, only that's what I'm thinking. What the hey, Allan5oh. Is that really what Canadians' international calls cost in the US or do you have the worst phone plan in all the known universe?

Let's talk about $2/minute. If you are like many Canadian drivers you spend more time driving in the US than you do in the 51st state. 8) At $2/minute you can hardly afford to take but the most crucial phone calls. Contrast that to an American driver who has a large minutes package or things like free 'in circle' type deals (do you just love that commercial with D. Wade and Barkey where he shows off his 'sexy' shorts?) :lol: I sit in my truck jabbering with whoever, it really closes the gap when you are away from home. If you can hardly afford to do that, that's a tremendous quality of life issue due to the costs of cross-border phone calls. I'm not telling you something you don't already know, it's just something an American driver generally wouldn't think about. I'm whining and I spend a small percentage of my time up north.

 

There is no jabbering on the cell phone. That's for sure. Use the land line and the calling card for that.
As far as $2/minute yeah it can easily be that.

Air time: free
long distance: $1/minute
roaming fee: $1/minute
+ 15% tax.

 

Attn: SHARP-EYED "CAM"

Paul supported himself making tents, in between his travels, so that he could fulfill the Divine Commission Jesus gave him, as well as the rest of us: Preach the Gospel to every creature.

I'm sure there are some Truck Drivers out there who are doing the same thing -- working behind the wheel to be in the right place, at the right time, to share the Holy Love of God with people they meet on the road -- all those who are aching because they are "burdened and heavy laden". . . with sins, grief, guilt, and heartache.

You see, Paul was once a FUNDAMENTALIST TERRORIST.

That's right! Before Jesus got hold of his life, Paul was a religious fanatic who rounded up whole families of Christians to slaughter them or put them in prison. He was cheering on the sidelines when an apostle named Steven was stoned to death.

But then, out on the Interstate between Jerusalem and Damascus, Christ struck Paul blind and told him he'd have a new birth once he got on STRAIGHT STREET, where a man named Ananias was waiting to baptize him. (Read the story in Chapter 9 of The Book of Acts.)

Paul became an evangelist. Unlike the suits on television, he never asked anyone to support him. That's the real meaning of "tentmaker".[/quote]

 

Ok, yeah. I'm really familiar with the expression 'tentmaker', I was a missionary English teacher to Canada myself. Almost did a YWAM DTS, got a friend in Mozambique with Heidi Baker if you've heard of her.

Perhaps to my own shame, I rarely make the effort to lead people to Jesus as I did in...China. I've gotten the left foot of fellowship from church a time or two (or three, or five... :lol: ). If some measure of the love of God doesn't surface in me from time to time I guess there really is no witness. I'm not completely backslidden. Even as I write I have Darlene Zchech singing in the background.

So then, that explains the lion, but not necessarily Shebear.

 

That really is too bad. Huge quality of life issue. I can't tell you how much time I've spent talking to my Mom about the antics of our dogs, the Morning Glories, my nephew...Other people, hours on the phone...It stands out because I started driving in the days of 800 numbers and calling cards. I remember how it was then and how it is now. The internet? Condo sleepers for solo drivers? I wonder how much people realize the quality of life for truckers in the US has improved over the past ten years. Terrible that Canadian drivers can't reap the benefits.

 

Well...now tah tyou mention it...there is a thing caled Skype IIRC for home calls. Required a computer and internet connectino I beleive, but it's really cheap from all I've heard.

 

Cam, I don't even know what a thousand bucks in bourbon looks like, but I'm imagining an entire room of Jim Beam.

By the way I should note that I fought that bill amount and won.

 

I drove for about 3 years until Jan 06, all of it into the US - have picked up, delivered or driven through 44 of the contigious 50 US states. The biggest problem was communication and the extortionate rates charged by Canadian cell phone companies. It did not make any sense for me use my Canadian cell phone in the US, no matter what plan they offered for North American roaming. The best solution I was able to come up with was to use a US cell phone (given by a relative who lives in the US). I paid US $39.95 per month then for a T-mobile plan which allowed me 1000 day time minutes, unlimited evenings and weekends, no long distance and no roaming no matter whether I was just across the border in Detroit or in Nogales, Arizona on the Mexican border. When my dispatch in Canada needed me, they dialled me on my US cell phone. When I needed to call them, I called them on the 1-800 number, so I only used air time on my US phone. I got one of the then new VOIP phones at home which for Thirty canadian dollars per month allowed unlimited calls all over Canada and the US. That coupled with unlimited calls at nights on my US cellphone, allowed my wife to call me any night after 9pm and speak for any length of time for "free". My cost was capped at a total of 45 US dollars (including tax) plus thirty five canadian dollars (including tax) per month.

But for US drivers coming into Canada, forget about getting US style deals. The cell phone companies here are extortionists. Had I driven in Canada alone, I would never have got the quality time speaking with my family that I did driving into the US.