Friday Night at Lowa is an ethnographic study on the largest Amoco truck stop “Lowa 80” presented by Rick Zollo. He writes about his first-hand experiences, interviews with truck drivers, and Lowa 80 employees in his research study. Furthermore, Zollo shares the problems he faced as an outsider in the truck community. The circumstantial details of the atmosphere in the truck stop are well presented in the study. He describes the detailed response of the driver’s facial expressions and body language towards his questions during the interviews. Zollo elaborates his visits to different parts of the truck stop including the restaurant, arcade, truck yard, and fuel center. He interviews truck drivers and employees in these different parts of the truck stop to reflect upon the essence of the culture in the truck community.
According to Zollo’s descriptive observation, the staff of the truck stop was friendly and forthcoming during their interview. However, some of the truck drivers were reluctant to share their experiences with him. Therefore, he shows immense sympathy towards the truck drivers while interviewing them in order to make them comfortable. Zollo has a keen interest in truck culture by which, it is possible that he has prior knowledge of the truck culture. Through his interviews with the truck drivers, he deduces the list of problems/issues faced by the truck driver during their job. The list of problems faced by the truck community includes logbook, multiple speed limits for truck drivers, lack of loading and unloading facility, and combination-fuel tax as noted by Zollo. It is a field working project which encapsulates Rick’s interesting journey of his Friday nights, experiencing the culture of truck drivers. Zollo’s descriptive approach towards the ethnographic study makes it appealing for the reader and provides an in-depth study of truck driver’s community/culture.
