Why Men Shouldn’t Write Advice Columns

Dear Randy,

Life at home has been almost overwhelming. My husband was laid-off from his job six months ago, and it’s starting to get to him. He’s depressed and mopes around all day. He eats junk and watches T.V. He’s become listless and irritable and says he feels worthless and hopeless. And it’s affecting our marriage, which is starting to fall apart.

Anyway, yesterday I set off for work, leaving my husband alone in the house watching soap operas. I hadn’t gone more than three miles when my engine overheated and broke down. The car shuddered to a halt and I severely hurt my back trying to push it off to the side of the road. I walked the three miles back home, I found my husband making love to our neighbor’s wife.

I don’t know what to do. I love him very much, and I sympathize with what he’s going through, but this… how do I handle this? He said he was sorry and that it was a one-time thing, but how do I know? I don’t know if I can trust him anymore. I don’t know if he’s telling me the truth. What should I do?

Sincerely,
Frustrated and concerned.

Dear Frustrated and Concerned,

I understand your anger and frustration. A car stalling on the highway can be extremely exasperating. Especially when it picks the most inopportune time to do so. An engine overheating can be caused by a variety of things. The first thing you should do is check that there is no debris in the fuel line. If that’s clear, check the jubilee clips holding the vacuum pipes onto the inlet manifold. Or it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the carburetor float chamber. At any rate, when you take it into the shop make sure that you pay close attention to what they’re telling you, and get everything in writing. You don’t want one of those thieves taking advantage of you.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Randy