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Going Dry
By Dan Learn

hat does “dry” mean to most people? Staying indoors on a rainy day? Itchy skin? Or the feeling in your throat after cheering on your favourite sports team?

For me, the word “dry” has recently taken on new meaning: I’ve decided to completely give up alcohol. It wasn’t a decision I’d been weighing for weeks or months – the revelation happened quickly, while I was stuck in traffic heading home from work. I also don’t have any past tragedy or personal suffering that motivates me. In fact, I didn’t find any reasons to quit – they found me!

There are three main motivations behind this decision: work life, home life, and other factors such as health, conscience, and finances.

I work for Canadian National Railway, the largest railway in Canada, and one of the largest in North America, as a railway conductor. It’s a career I’ve dreamt of since childhood: the romance of the iron road, working with your hands, taming powerful machinery, and working year-round outdoors. You could also say it runs in the family: my father, Bob (now retired), and my Uncle Dave are railroaders with CN, as were great-grandfathers on both sides of the family.

...employees must not be under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other intoxicants “while on duty, or subject to duty.”

Both CN and Transport Canada, the federal body that regulates Canadian railways, take safety very seriously. Conductors and locomotive engineers must pass an exam every three years on their knowledge and application of rules governing employees whose jobs are connected with the movement of trains. In the first few pages of the rule book is one of the more important instructions regarding safety, which we call “Rule G”: among other things, it states that employees must not be under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other intoxicants “while on duty, or subject to duty.”

Staying sober at work is easy – it’s that “subject to duty” line that trips up so many. Railroading is a unique career; although some periods are slower than others, generally speaking, the railroad is always on the move. Because of this, the railroader definition of “subject to duty” is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Unless we’re on vacation, we don’t get days off.

This alone makes indulging in the drink incredibly difficult. Let’s not also forget the safety aspect: it’s incredibly irresponsible, not to mention dangerous, to show up for work under the influence. You’re putting yourself at tremendous risk of injury, or death. Looking beyond yourself, with that small amount of bad judgement, you’re also risking the lives of those around you: your neighbours, co-workers, and friends. Damage to company property causes frowns all around, but locomotives, railcars, and track are easily replaced. The husband, wife, parent, or friend you hurt, can’t be.

This ties into the family side. Throughout life, priorities change, and I’ve been no exception. My roles have cycled through easy-going college student, to pavement-pounding graduate, to husband, to first-time father - all in under five years. In my never-ending attempt to be the best husband and father I can be, I often put aside my preferences for the greater good of my family.

I never drank much to begin with, and I’ve never personally known an alcoholic. My wife, however, can’t say the same.

Despite medical studies that point to benefits of moderated alcohol consumption, I’m not sold. Too often, those believing the studies misinterpret the results, and embark on a mission of overkill.

Like all adolescents, both my wife and I were bombarded with images glorifying alcohol use – it’s really difficult to avoid. High school becomes an initiation, and college inevitably a reinforcement tool. While I strayed through these years, my wife didn’t. Robyn has seen first hand the damaging effects alcohol has on a person and those around them, which fuelled her choice to abstain completely at an age when most teens can’t get enough. I won’t risk veering down that path and becoming a poor role model for my children, and an even worse partner for my wife.

Those are the two big reasons I have. Supporting them are other factors I also considered, such as health, conscience, and finances. Despite medical studies that point to benefits of moderated alcohol consumption, I’m not sold. Too often, those believing the studies misinterpret the results, and embark on a mission of overkill. Again, this can lead to adverse consequences.

Conscience also plays into the mix. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an advocacy group with a poignant message, spends countless effort and resources educating the public about the dangers of driving under the influence. Once again, as responsible as I may think myself, I can’t be taking chances.

Finances are also something to be considered. I managed to put myself through college without any outside financial support – I’d worked since high school, and continued to hold down a steady job when I wasn’t attending lectures. Money was tight, but I wasn’t starving; I could afford a round here and there. However, when I got married, things changed. Like my single years, we weren’t starving, but we weren’t rich, either. One poorly controlled vice by either of us could’ve easily ruined us fiscally, not to mention cursed an otherwise happy marriage.

In short, you can see this snap decision was glaringly obvious. I don’t intend to be forceful towards others with my views, instead aiming for the “practice what you preach” method, and leading by example. My goal is simple: to live a safe, healthy, and long life, spent with a growing family, a great career, and nothing I’ll want to forget.

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