Temporarily In Need of A [Fake] Husband.

I am in no hurry to get married, but every now and again, I get in situations where I realize how useful a husband would be. I have a fun-filled and satisfying single life, so these occasions are rare. Nonetheless, being married has its advantages over being single in some situations.

More specifically, yesterday I went to have my car looked at. Let's face it. Car dealerships and auto mechanics treat women differently than they do men. They treat men better than they do women. And, as we know, I am a woman.

In January, when I returned to Portland, the radio in my car had stopped working. I turn it on and can change the radio channels, but the volume won't go up or down and the CD player is unresponsive. When I took my car in to get an estimate, they asked me to sign a paper saying that they would charge me $100 to examine it. I paused and asked the man behind the counter if the fee was nonnegotiable. He then dropped the fee to $50, explaining that it probably wouldn't take an entire hour to check it out, so they would charge me half. (Initially, I was proud of myself having knocked off half the price. I later found out that my male friends get these sort of estimates for free.)

After waiting over an hour in the waiting room, I went back into the office to see about my car. They assured me that they would know details soon and asked me to continue waiting. Keep in mind that they are just checking on the radio. After about twenty minutes of waiting by the service desks, the man finally came out to talk to me. My radio was broken. When I asked questions, he said that he did not know the answers to my questions. Ten minutes later, he returned with a sheet, a bill, detailing what it would cost to replace the radio. In it, I was given no options for upgrades, used radios, or recommendations.

I have to admit, I felt very alone. Was I asking the right questions? Was I receiving the answers that I deserved? I felt very grown up in a way that I kind of resent. How am I supposed to know what to do with my car if my mechanic, who I trust to diagnose the problem, will not fill me in on all the significant information. I think that one has choices in how to replace a car radio. And I think that I should also be educated by my mechanic on exactly what he has found after AN HOUR of examining the radio.

I decided to get some more opinions. I'm not even sure if it is indeed my radio that is broken. When I think about the symptoms, it seems to me that instead it is my speakers that need to be replaced. Mostly, I wish I knew how to find out more information. I wish I knew a good honest person who knows about these things and can diagnose my car. I wish that I had a fake husband so that when I go into situations like these, I will have an advocate of the preferred gender. And I wish that I lived in a world where one gender did not receive preferred treatment over another.

For now, I'm driving around town with no radio. I think that the silence is good for me. I'm not ready to fix the radio. It is too exhausting. Maybe a good fake husband will come along in the meantime. One that likes silent car rides.