Hello everybody.
I needed to share somewhere a story of my collegue Thomas.
First off. I dont know Thomas too well, because I dont know him long enough.
Thomas called to our company about two months ago and asked if there was a vacancy for truck drivers. As most of the transport companies we are in constant lack of drivers, so as he had all the permits and experiences required we hired him.
But this guys face… You could literally read from his face that life has been rough on him. The storms he had survived had written a lot all over his face
Im the logistics manager so my job is to plan who takes what trailer and goes where and returns with what etc.
First month Thomas did domestic trips and was doing well, and was asking if we can also send him abroad once a week (ferry benefits for truckers) So I sent him to Finland on 14th of december. Long story short he drank there for 4 days and finally I just sent another driver there to get the goods delivered and truck back home.
21st of december he was standing in my office shaking, eyes locked on the floor, and telling me how sorry he was about what had happened.
I told him that I was an alcoholic aswell. I told him I know what he is going thru and I can very well relate to being him at this point. I also told him, that he is powerless over alcohol, if he will continue this lifestyle he will end up in a mental institutsioon, jail or dead. I told him to come and seek sobriety from AA. I told him About my experiences and I said that we are on his side, we dont hate him for what has happened, we want to help him (as our company)
So we gave him a day off to clean his truck and put him back on domestic route we call “burger round” haul burgers from meat factory to chainmarket warehouses and empty racks back to meat factory.
Yesterday a security quard pulled him over at the meat factory gate with a suspection of alcohol abuse. And of course he was drunk. So we send a sober driver to bring the truck back to our yard. Thomas told he will sleep it off in the truckcabin.
He didnt.
He took his own car and drove home… only that he didnt make it home, he made it pretty far, but I feel that he had lost his soul before already, or his soul wasnt watched over anymore. He ended up head to head collision on the road with another car. And he died.
And I feel like it was not his fault, that he couldnt stay sober. I really hope he is better there.
I was looking at this picture from local news web yesterday, just trying to figure out what make and model car it was, I didnt know then it was Thomases volkswagen.
And this is one more good reason for me to stay the f sober.
. Could have been me not to long ago… R.I.P. Thomas 
Sorry my share was so long,but this topic is very close to my heart nowadays.