I met Nikki Stewart at the Monroe, Mich., Pilot last year while we we both waiting on showers. The Maryland -based steel hauler was kind enough to explain to me how she was able to just saunter into the truck stop with a shower somehow already waiting for her. Apparently Pilot/Flying J, the designated fuel stop for both our companies, had come out with some kind of app which allows you to do just that, and Nikki patiently explained how it all worked.
I’m a bit of a digital neanderthal. As a general rule, I do my best to not keep up with the latest trends in technology.
For example, using a GPS, to me, is nothing more than an admission of personal defeat. Yeah, now that’s the kind of experience I’ve been looking for all my life — let’s just check our minds in at the door and let a machine tell us the best way to go. Meanwhile, you’re crossing a 10-ton bridge on some goat trail because you allowed your God-given intuition to be severed by an automated voice while abandoning the well-worn way you’ve gone for the last 30 years. You realize you’ ve been sold a bill of goods.
Think of me what you will, but there’s no substitute for a good flip phone. These days, it’s really hard to find someone who isn’t buried in their device. That’s why meeting Nikki reminded me of those truckstop conversations from earlier times, those talks that segue into a free range of other topics you can only enjoy with a fellow driver. Some of the best talks I’ve ever had out here have been when I was stuck somewhere with another driver, at some godforsaken place, waiting.
And just waiting, with nothing else to do but spin a yarn or two.
About three minutes into this particular discussion, I realized I’d struck gold in Nikki Stewart. When she told me she was a steel hauler, I must have displayed a little too much surprise and interest. “Yeah, turns out you don’t need a penis to do this job,” she said. After a good laugh, the next thing that came out of my mouth was “Can I do a story about you for Overdrive magazine?”
This is Nikki Stewart’s story:
