We don’t often think of the peo­ple who drive our highways day and night to ensure our goods get from A to B. However, Oatlands local, Shane Grabham, has – quite literally – put pen to paper to pay homage to local freight courier, Bruce Livingston, in honour of his recent retirement at the age of seventy-four.

If I Can I Will

By Shane Grabham, Oatlands

Bruce Livingston is his name.

He travelled up and down the high­way in the cold and snow and rain.

He worked the usual times and other times as well.

It wasn’t very often he ever had a spell.

He often worked at weekends and often worked at night and encountered the sort of challenges a freight courier might.

He was diagnosed with diabetes which was another challenge too as he had to live and work with it as many people do.

He was always very efficient and always very prompt and didn’t charge a fortune like many busi­nesses want.

Sometimes savage dogs were pres­ent when he delivered to a home but he said “They wouldn’t get a feed” as he was only skin and bone.

He liked to have a laugh and also have a chat but he was always in a hurry and couldn’t spare much time for that.

He has an easygoing nature and he’s a gentleman as well and also very friendly as anyone can tell. But it is difficult to describe him as there aren’t many characters like him.

Now that he’s retired we won’t see him very much but considering his personality he will probably stay in touch.

“If I can I will” is the Livingston family motto, which may have inspired Bruce’s ancestor Doctor Livingston of African fame, but it certainly inspired Bruce through­out his long working life as he would often say “If I can I will.”