Oh Gang, so what's the deal with Rick Yemm?

[Diamond Jim]

Greetings to fellow Ice Road Truckers fans across cyberland. I have been wanting to get a discussion going on Rick Yemm for a while now and it seems is this time is as good as any.

Let me lead off by saying that I have always had a soft spot in my heart for hard luck cases. Last year I felt bad for Rick and Drew, but for Rick especially. Rick was doing his damnedest, as I saw it, to produce for Hugh with a rig with no heat in 30 below actual temps. Who could have blamed him for packing it in under those conditions.

I am finding it hard though to feel bad for Rick this season. He's already disabled three rigs. With that kind of track record most people would be glad just to have a job. And he's hauling stuff back and forth on the ice road. But somehow now his nose is all bent out of shape because they are making him do garbage runs. A load is a load, isn't it? Look what that jerk Kurt is having Polar Bear Roland deal with- frozen stinky cesspools- and Hugh has yet to bitch once.

I like Rick very much on a personal level but I find it hard to feel sorry for him now- indeed, my sympathies are more with Drew, who they have once again made to look like a fool, but he's hanging in there. Any thoughts gang?

[DanTheMan]

I have no sympathy for Rick or Drew...especially Drew because he is a quitter and folds like an accordion at the slightest pressure.

Rick whines too much. Nothing worse than whining in my book. I also had a spot for him last year because Hugh did seem tough on him. However, now I know why he was so tough on him because Hugh knew Rick and he knew he would damage his trucks and whine about everything.

[Diamond Jim]

You know you have a point there. None of us knew any of these guys before season 1, but Hugh knew Rick for quite a while because they were good friends. It was difficult to understand why Hugh was so hard on the guy, especially when you consider the background they had. Rick's truck last year was a pile of garbage but now it seems that Hugh might have been less likely to listen to his complaints because he has heard it so many times before. The old saying goes, cry 'Wolf' too many times, and you know what happens when the wolf finally does arrive.

[Joe]

Rick needs to slow down. Drew needs to go to Ohio and haul tampons.

[Sam McWhorter]

Hugh should have fixed Rick's truck last year! Drew did have a hard time, but he seemed so defensive, a 'I've got a chip on my shoulder and dare you to knock it off" type of attitude. Not so bad this year, but he still has it. Alex is my favorite!!!!!!! Sam

[Mike]

Joe said:

Rick needs to slow down. Drew needs to go to Ohio and haul tampons.

Excellent post. Rick needs to get fired for the way he treats the equipment. Those mechanics can tell just what a cowboy this guy is. Hee Haww My rear end Rick....no excuse for that dude.

And Drew couldn't be trusted to show up on time for week straight so I doubt he would keep the tampon hauling gig...

[Diamond Jim]

Very true, as likable as he is if he destroyed stuff where I work the way he's been messing up those rigs he'd be out on his ass for sure. regarding Drew, I am going to be one of the few to stand up for the guy. He has his problems, no doubt about it. But he has yet to wreck out any of the equipment, this year or last. That ought to count for something.

Mike said:

Joe said:

Rick needs to slow down. Drew needs to go to Ohio and haul tampons.

Excellent post. Rick needs to get fired for the way he treats the equipment. Those mechanics can tell just what a cowboy this guy is. Hee Haww My rear end Rick....no excuse for that dude.

And Drew couldn't be trusted to show up on time for week straight so I doubt he would keep the tampon hauling gig...

[Mike]

About Drew...remember that ditch he went in after being warned by Rick? I would bet my next paycheck that that little incident was why he lost his batteries later on in season 1. I bet he cracked the supports and the rough ice roads finished the job. I always wondered why that wasn't mentioned. I have know lots of folks like Drew, the kind of driver who would stand on the fender of his truck to clean the windshield instead of tilting the hood and standing on the tire.

Not a bad guy, but not one that I would want to run my equipment...

[eco-driver]

Rick needs to grow up and knock the chip off his own shoulder. He has learned nothing with Hugh
as a mentor. Do the work and stop whining man. Hugh radioded Rick to get the heat fixed in season 1.
He has no respect for the equipment and because of that is a liability to any employer.

Drew doesn't need any help looking like a fool, he's a pro. He strikes me as the kind of guy who avoids
work at all costs by talking his way around or out of it. When he was supposed to move the snowmobile
(season 2) he yelled for someone else to bring him a chain when he got his own self stuck. "Get your butt
off the fork lift and get your own chain", would have been my reply. Not Drew, he used this as another
opportunity to sit back, relax and have another cigarette. No initiative. Both these guys have no clue about
pride in work or work ethics.

[eco-driver]

Mike said:

About Drew...remember that ditch he went in after being warned by Rick? I would bet my next paycheck that that little incident was why he lost his batteries later on in season 1. I bet he cracked the supports and the rough ice roads finished the job. I always wondered why that wasn't mentioned. I have know lots of folks like Drew, the kind of driver who would stand on the fender of his truck to clean the windshield instead of tilting the hood and standing on the tire.

Not a bad guy, but not one that I would want to run my equipment...

[eco-driver]

eco-driver said:

Mike said:

Mike made this call correctly.

About Drew...remember that ditch he went in after being warned by Rick? I would bet my next paycheck that that little incident was why he lost his batteries later on in season 1. I bet he cracked the supports and the rough ice roads finished the job. I always wondered why that wasn't mentioned. I have know lots of folks like Drew, the kind of driver who would stand on the fender of his truck to clean the windshield instead of tilting the hood and standing on the tire.

Not a bad guy, but not one that I would want to run my equipment...

[Mike]

eco-driver said:

Rick needs to grow up and knock the chip off his own shoulder. He has learned nothing with Hugh
as a mentor. Do the work and stop whining man. Hugh radioded Rick to get the heat fixed in season 1.
He has no respect for the equipment and because of that is a liability to any employer.

Drew doesn't need any help looking like a fool, he's a pro. He strikes me as the kind of guy who avoids
work at all costs by talking his way around or out of it. When he was supposed to move the snowmobile
(season 2) he yelled for someone else to bring him a chain when he got his own self stuck. "Get your butt
off the fork lift and get your own chain", would have been my reply. Not Drew, he used this as another
opportunity to sit back, relax and have another cigarette. No initiative. Both these guys have no clue about
pride in work or work ethics.

Very well said Eco Driver!!

[Mieke]

Yeah, I agree about Drew being a quitter: didn;t he once say something along the lines of "I've never quit in my life"? And Rick is a whiner. If he didn;t whine, then I think he would be perfectly nice guy. He needs to learn to suck it up and get his head straight before he decides to drive again and be on camera for it. I think Drew should just go and live in his little hole of despair if he's going to be a pessimist like that.
He smokes too much as well.

DanTheMan said:

I have no sympathy for Rick or Drew...especially Drew because he is a quitter and folds like an accordion at the slightest pressure.

Rick whines too much. Nothing worse than whining in my book. I also had a spot for him last year because Hugh did seem tough on him. However, now I know why he was so tough on him because Hugh knew Rick and he knew he would damage his trucks and whine about everything.