Alex Debogorski
Alex Debogorski was born on August 4, 1953 in Berwyn, Alberta, Canada. His father was a paratrooper in the Free Polish Brigade out of Britain during World War II and his mother studied both math and music at Cambridge University (his parents first met and got married in London, England). Alex grew up on a farm in Alberta, Canada and attended the Un...
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Alex Debogorski was born on August 4, 1953 in Berwyn, Alberta, Canada. His father was a paratrooper in the Free Polish Brigade out of Britain during World War II and his mother studied both math and music at Cambridge University (his parents first met and got married in London, England). Alex grew up on a farm in Alberta, Canada and attended the University of Alberta. Debogorski worked at a tire store prior to deciding to become a truck driver at age nineteen in 1972. He also worked as a taxi driver, club bouncer, oil rigger, coal miner, and as a coal and diamond prospector as well as bought and sold mobile homes before buying his first truck in 1980. Alex moved with his wife Louise to the city of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territory of Canada in 1976. The author of the best-selling book "King of the Road: True Tales from a Legendary Ice Road Trucker," Debogorski also writes articles on a regular basis for the local newspaper "The Yellowknifer." The father of eleven children, Alex has thirteen grandchildren. Show less «
Nighttime is when truckers get talkative. It's lonely out here. Guys get on the radio and start telling each other stories. They're like lit...Show more »
Nighttime is when truckers get talkative. It's lonely out here. Guys get on the radio and start telling each other stories. They're like little kids in a bunkhouse after the adults have put out the lights. Everybody is keeping each other company. I'm one of the most devoted storytellers on the ice road, and I'll keep the other truckers entertained for hours. Show less «
When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a superhero and save people from bad things. Throughout my life, I've had the opportunity to be a re...Show more »
When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a superhero and save people from bad things. Throughout my life, I've had the opportunity to be a real hero and I've had the opportunity to be a real ass, and I've taken that one, too! Show less «
I gotta die somewhere, someplace. I guess today is as good as any other day.
I gotta die somewhere, someplace. I guess today is as good as any other day.
[on if he ever gets afraid driving on icy roads] Sure I am. You see trucks jackknifed in the snow and accidents that were probably unprevent...Show more »
[on if he ever gets afraid driving on icy roads] Sure I am. You see trucks jackknifed in the snow and accidents that were probably unpreventable. There are plenty of better drivers out there than me, but I know enough to respect the weather and listen to the ice. Show less «
I was born with something you can't buy and is very difficult to earn. It's called poetic license.
I was born with something you can't buy and is very difficult to earn. It's called poetic license.
I have a different understanding of life than you do yet. We're just putting in time until the coffin gets built. As a matter of fact, we sh...Show more »
I have a different understanding of life than you do yet. We're just putting in time until the coffin gets built. As a matter of fact, we should build our own coffins. And If I get the time, I need to build my own coffin, just to prove my point. You make your own coffin and if you have a big house you make it into a coffee table. If you have a small apartment, you make it into a closet and you put it by the door and you hang your suit, coat, the stuff for the wedding or maybe for your funeral. And every day when you walk by it, you give your coffin a pat. And you bring your day into perspective. And you'll have better days because of that. The one thing about the ice roads, you spend a lot of time by yourself. If you don't have the radio cranked up and your ear buds in or a TV turned on sucking one's brains out, then one gets to think about a lot of these things. The shortness of life is amazing to me. Show less «
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