DEAR ABBY: I remodel houses for the Veterans Administration. I happen to be female, but I can lay flooring, hang Sheetrock, paint, wallpaper -- anything except electrical wiring.
I make frequent trips to hardware stores and lumberyards. Because I am small, my husband accompanies me to do the lifting and loading. Clerks in these stores frequently ignore me, but offer to help my husband. If I ask a question, the clerks invariably direct their answer to my husband.
Sometimes my husband will tell the clerk to talk to me, and sometimes I step between my husband and the clerk, smile and say, "I am the carpenter and the buying customer." The older male salesclerks are more set in their notions about women doing this kind of work, so I prefer female or young male clerks who are accepting of a female carpenter.
Forgive my bragging, but I also do crossword puzzles in ink. -- LADY CARPENTER IN LOUISIANA
DEAR LADY CARPENTER: Gloria Allred would love you. You have broken the gender barrier, making it easier for other women to go where females formerly feared to tread. More power to you!