I have a bud I have known for 42 years. The guy had his stuff together in Jr and Sr High. When I was in Boot Camp, his Dad died VERY suddenly. After that, he developed a SCREW IT attitude. Turned to the party animal . When we were young, it was funny. But years went by and he never stopped. He never moved away from home. Said he was "taking care of Mom". Um...no. 20 years ago, he lost an OUTSTANDING job with Jacksonville's Mayo Clinic. He got involved with some SERIOUS drugs. About 18 years ago, I just had to stop being around him at all. He did not care about carrying any drugs even though he was among friends with good jobs. A mutual friend almost lost his career with UPS because he did not know he was carrying a LOT of Coke on him. I never wished bad things on my bud but I simply had to sever all ties. This past January, his Mom passed away rather suddenly. In fact, her funeral was just a day or two after the Rams / Bucs game. Though the family had been in the house since 1980, his Mom had to refinance multiple times. So the house HAD to be sold. My bud had to be out of the house by yesterday. I heard his Sister helped him get his last few things out. In a rage, he started throwing stuff at the house. He and his Sister each got 39,000 from the sale. In the meantime, my bud is living in a neighbor's garage. His lifestyle is so reckless, there is NO WAY I could help. I was chatting with a mutual friend and we both can see our bud taking one last hit when that 39,000 runs out. Such a waste.

I lost my best friend 10 years ago, who was a bit of a train wreck but he cared and at least TRIED. His damned Demons just got the best of him. Asked my Wife tonight....Just WTF is in the water where I grew up. Been toooo many tragic stories. I almost feel like a lucky survivor.