Relationship Lost Its Spark?

A Mechanical Metaphor Over the years of reading self-help books, it's become obvious to me that I rarely find one that I could get my Dad, or most other men, to read. They're just not written in a way that men can relate to. Interestingly, I've noticed that computer and other gadget companies are beginning to catch on to this fact. When we unwrap our latest piece of high-tech gadgetry, we now have a choice to opt for the Quick Start Guide or plough our way through the entire manual. For most of us men, that's a no brainer. We want to play with the toy, not find out how to build it. My Dad is a mechanic and he taught me that given a few basic tools and a decent skill set most things can be fixed. When it comes to engines he is a genius. He can tell you what's wrong with your car by just listening to it. His skill is so fine-tuned; he can diagnose your car trouble over the phone. Grown men used to bring their cars over to him in tears, convinced this was finally the end. My Dad would take it to bits, figure out if a fuel line was blocked, determine if there was too much friction in one area, or if there was not enough connection in another. Then he'd put it back together and just like magic, the car would run again. To my father engines were predictable; he knew what to look for. Take the spark plug. If it stops sparking, your engine stops running and your wheels stop turning. To a mechanic, it's very predictable that your spark plugs will last only a certain amount of miles and then need replacing. So given that a spark plug will cost you about