2-23-2007

Here's something you DON'T see every day. A 60-year-old woman riding an excavator. It seems that Barbara Slader has had two life-long dreams: to drive a tugboat and to drive big construction equipment. Her husband, David, arranged for a tugboat lesson for her 50th birthday and, this week, she got to take on the construction stuff for her 60th.

It was all one big surprise. David flew up their two grand daughters and the equipment trainers put together a full birthday party set-up, including cake, food and decorations. Guests huddled in a trailer for close to an hour before the guest of honor arrived (occasionally they'd wander around the training site but temperatures in the 30's with wind and occasional rain made walking a not-so-tempting prospect)

Slader arrived at the frigid site in Vancouver, blind-folded. Her grand daughters helped her out of the car and, once outside, she was jumping around, squealing with excitement asking, not IF she got to drive, but HOW MANY.

For the next several hours, Slader along with some of her close friends and family got an up close look at the rigs we've all seen when driving by a construction site. She says it's not like driving a car because there are so many controls to worry about. Her instructors said she's a natural.

David Salder told me the TOUGHEST part of the whole thing was planning a secret for someone who wouldn't leave his side (David has been undergoing health issues in recent weeks).

Barbara isn' sure what they'll do for her 70th birthday but she expects it will have something to do with driving a blimp.