EV charging intimacy

…it’s a thing

EV Charging Intimacy...it's a thing

Something unusual happens when strangers pull up to an electric charging pedestal: conversation.

First, you have one thing in common: You own an electric car. The conversation starter goes like this:

"How do you like your _______?" (Chevy Bolt, Rivian, Tesla, KIA, Mustang Mach E, Mini Cooper, Jaguar, etc?)

Next, how far have you traveled?

Then, where are you from, and what brings you here?

After all, even with a fast charger, you have a few minutes to chat before your car is 80% charged.

That's how I met Ben, who lives in Cedar Falls and traveled to Fort Dodge on an IT networking assignment.

The Fort Dodge Kwik Star station has a charger mid-way between Des Moines and Okoboji, so we stop regularly. We usually have this one to ourselves, so when I first saw a huge Ford F-150 at the charger, I thought some big truck was making a political statement against EVs (it happens) and blocking access. It was the most popular truck on the road, and dealers couldn't keep them in stock.

EV charging chatter is a new thing and a differentiator from the old gas pump.

We get a lot of ooohs and ahhhs for our KIA with its futuristic design, then we share the backstory: our first EV was a Tesla Y, but we got spooked by phantom braking. I loved the technology and was committed to buying an electric car, but the Tesla technology spoiled us. After test-driving six EVs, we were about to buy a used Tesla, manufactured before they started having braking issues. We had yet to consider a KIA but happened to be on Des Moines' 'dealer row' on Merle Hay Road and stopped into the dealership.

The Ford F150 is fascinating. They are big. We invited one another to sit in each other's vehicles, which was a hoot. The F-150 has an oversized I-Pad looking dashboard, even bigger than the Tesla. But he’s not wild about the technology compared to the Y, and we agreed Tesla tech spoiled us. (The KIA, however, surpasses Tesla, in my experience, even if it doesn't have a Netflix app on the dashboard or make fart sounds. Yes, for some reason, Tesla has an app that does that on command).

Ben's tall, so I don't see a KIA EV 6 Wind in his future. They, too, bought a Tesla Y previously, and it is his wife's car. He's only experienced the phantom braking twice, so it isn't the problem for him as it was for us.

We shared the bullet points of our life; he was born in Pella and lived in various places growing up, including New Zealand, before settling in Cedar Falls, where he had attended college.

I asked how he manages the compartmentalization of life, keeping things in balance, when technology keeps us plugged in 24/7.

"I'm the wrong one to ask," he sighed. "My wife calls my computer my ball and chain. She insists I store it in the closet if we go on vacation."

For those fortunate enough to love what we do and no longer have to go into an office to 'work,' it's a big issue to contemplate and tackle. I have no answers. In truth, I'm writing this early on a Saturday morning instead of going for a walk.

I told him I was trying to help people tell their stories and that through stories, folks develop more understanding of one another.

"So true, said Ben, "I wish everyone could experience what it is like overseas and have that perspective. Get a passport, get out of your little world, and get to know one another. Things would be less divisive."

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Ben and his F150 alongside Evie, the KIA EV6 Wind

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Auto Industry Expert

Car buff? Tune into our Monday Zoom lunch call with a reporter who covers the auto industry for the Detroit Free Press. Phoebe Wall Howard is our guest. She will also be with us for the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat, teaching participants how to use detail and emotion in storytelling. For subscribers: your Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81215185723

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Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des MoiWriters'hanie Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston

Iowa Writers’ Collaborative

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Nik Heftman, The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla

Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

LettersfromIowans, Iowa

Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Lake City

Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Wini Moranville, Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics: Behind the Curtains, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Urbandale 

Macey Spensley, The Midwest Creative, Davenport and Des Moines

Larry Stone, Listening to the Land, Elkader

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines

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Learn more: www.okobojiwritersretreat.com