June arrives. Hmmmm. Same arrival as April and May.

We are still hoping June will be a much nicer month than April and May were.  They began with the threat of storms and that threat seemed to remain every day.  In fact, both were above average months in rainfall.  But we've been looking at that wonderful forecast for the first several days of June and got our hopes up. 

We awoke this morning with the possibility of showers or thundershowers, some extreme, rolling through this afternoon and evening.  So June threatens to start off like the last couple of months.   The potential good news is that we do have nice weather forecast, with, of course, those chances of occasional showers, at least through next weekend.

In the news this morning, the Lewiston based Lewiston Maineiacs, a member of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, is no more.  Huge debts, according to the news reports, caused the team to be sold and then dissolved.  I guess I'm at least partially responsible for the team's demise.  I've never once attended one of their games.  It might appear, though, that I have lots of company in that responsibility.  To give the city credit, though, Lewiston did all it could for the team; unfortunately, it might appear that folk elsewhere, like me, didn't.

While we're on the topic of hockey, it also looks like the Portland Pirates Coach Kevin Dineen is leaving.  That's a good thing, not that he's leaving but rather that he's getting a new job he deserves as a head coach in the NHL.  The Pirates themselves are also looking for a new NHL team for an affiliation.  It looks like their current parent club, Buffalo, is getting a team closer to their home.  Probably just a coincidence but the rumors have the Pirates joining the Florida Panthers, the same team taking Dineen away from Portland.

One thing about retirement is the time to think about toys.  There are a couple I think I'd like to have.  The Smart Phone which I mentioned yesterday isn't one of them.  But I have been doing a lot of reading about the Apple IPad recently.  It just looks like it would be a fun tablet to have.  There are some new tablets scheduled to come out this year so I'll be patient to compare them.  The other item is a reading device.  The Amazon Kindle looks like a super one and I think it's possibly the most popular.  Its drawback is it's black and white.  The Barnes and Noble Nook is a colorized competitor.

However, I'm not like that car dealer owner whose wife apparently needs his approval to buy some shoes.  Shucks, no, it's more of a reversal here.  I'm not 100% sure I need Gator Wife's permission to make a purchase, but I'd sure discuss it with her first.  There is a small difference in these items.  GW wouldn't even discuss a "need" like shoes; she'd simply go get them.  On the other hand, those things growing in my wish list are simply "wants."  Two different categories.

Writing about that car dealer, though, has brought to mind it just might be typical.  Over the years GW and I have bought cars, we've noticed a distinct difference in the treatment of me by the various dealers and how she is treated.  She's a woman and not considered good enough to talk cars.  It especially came to light when she bought her last car several years ago.  I was with her and the salesman spent 85% if the time talking to me almost leaving her out of the discussion.  And if you're wondering, I pointed out to him several times she was buying the car, not me.

She used to take her car to the dealer for service.  She hated facing the service writer at the place she bought the car as she was made to feel like she was "just a woman."  That place is no longer in business so she went to the company that bought it out.  Twice.  She left that place both times feeling like she had been "taken for a ride" big time.  She has a different term for it.  I'm not a mechanic nor was I there so I don't really know if she was treated fairly or not, but she doesn't feel like she was.  And she'll tell anyone who asks why she says she will never again cross the threshold of that new dealership.

She now uses a Sullivan shop for her car needs and always leaves that place like she was treated very fairly and with respect a customer should get, male or female.

Our daughter has also stopped using the dealership where she bought her last car.  She says she feels the same way her mother feels about going to a dealership.  I explained to her she should have asked the owner for permission to buy some new shoes.

Gator