Ice road trucker, Alex Debogorski, thoughtfully stopped by the SLC Lighting Booth after the ATHS National Convention and truck show.
As I was putting away the cash register, I saw a tall man with a cowboy hat on approach the booth. I knew without a doubt it was Alex Debogorski. Jokingly, I asked him if he was the one they were announcing over the loudspeaker during the convention. He responded with a big smile and said that he was. This was the start of a nice one-on-one conversation.
Warren: “How long has your show been going on?”
Alex: “The show is starting its 9th season, so quite a long time.”
Warren: “What channel is your show on? To be honest, I have never seen it myself, since I don’t own a TV.”
Alex: “The History Channel. I don’t own a TV either, so it’s ok. Don’t have time to watch it. I’m too busy between the show, travelling, and family.”
Warren: “How many kids do you have?”
Alex: “I have 11 kids.”
Warren: “I know I could never handle that many kids.”
Alex: “Why not? You don’t even have one, so you don’t know what you can handle yet.” He said with a laugh.
Warren: “That is very true; I guess you can get a lot done because you have 11 kids.”
That gave me something to think about for the day. We talked some more about life, giving me some good advice about marriage and raising a family. Then the conversation went a different direction.
Warren: “So, what state do you live in?”
Alex: “I actually live in the Northwest Territories up in Canada.”
Warren: “Well, you fooled me.”
Alex: “Here’s a story. I was in an interview with a couple of girls on TV. During the interview, they kept thanking me for being such a good American. I told them that I was from Canada and they said that they were sorry. But, through the rest of the interview they kept saying that I was a good American. Each time I reminded them that I’m from CANADA, and they kept getting it wrong. At the end of the interview, they finally said, ‘Thank you for being such a good Canadian-American.’ I figured that was close enough.”
Warren: “Well, I guess you could pass as a Texan. With the hat and all.”
After enjoying a few good laughs, he looked over our display and asked what we did and a few other questions about our products. Satisfied, he then asked if I wanted a picture with him by the booth. After the picture, he gave me an autographed bookmark. I then asked if it was ok to post the picture and some quotes of the interview on our website and he agreed to that.
Seeing that he had to leave, I thanked him for his time, advice, and the memory. He shortly left afterward with a “May God Bless you, Warren.”
That was my conversation with the Ice Road Trucker, Alex Debogorski.
