I got a problem and I need some input. All constructive comments are welcome. I have some friends from as far back as Middle School that I will always feel close to. I met them at thirteen and we hung out every day until I moved out of state. I mean every day one, if not all of them would come over to my house to visit or I would go to theirs. Four of us were like the horsemen of the apocalypse. Rarely separated and if so not far behind the others. After moving I would work my ass off during the school year so I could go visit them during the Summer, and when I got leave time from the service I would see them then also.

We all partied hard in High School. We used alcohol and pot mainly but some of us experimented with other crap. Joining The Corps was the best thing to happen to me. I got cleaned up, not that I was too far-gone, but I got put in check. My friends kept smoking and drinking to the point that they never really succeeded in much. Maybe that is just my opinion, but I see a pattern in the jobs and life styles.

When I would visit on leave they were still smoking pot and I would have to wear my trusty gas mask to be in the same room with them. Later on I found out that second hand smoke or alpha emissions wound not show up on the piss test, but why chance it. When I visited I would stay at one of their places. And all seemed well.

When I was discharged from The Army (I did both) I went back to my Middle School hometown. I got an apartment with my Wife and kids and looked forward to seeing my friends on a regular basis again. Upon arriving with my stuff I called Ty who is really the reason for this post and asked if he would help me move in and he said yes. When he showed up he was already drunk (no need for the pizza & Beer) and of no use.

Ty and the rest of my friends, some of which were new that I met through my old friends, came over to visit every now and then, but I could tell the visits were strained because smoking was not allowed in the house. That went for tobacco and definitely pot. If I went to visit them we spent more time together, but visits at my place were short and few. One day I went to leave my apartment and I heard the door at the apartment next door close. I went to go down stairs (lived on the 2nd) and I saw Ty about half way down. I said, "hey dude" and he turned and had this shocked look on his face. I figured it out quick enough. My neighbors were known dealers and Ty had just made a score. I didn’t put him on the spot much. I just said that he could say hi wen he was that close and he said ok.

Our relationship was pretty on off. I knew that I had pretty much been pushed out of the circle because I no longer smoked. I stayed in contact with "J" for a bit, but again those meetings were mainly on his stomping grounds. During this time "J" and Ty had a falling out over drugs or Ty’s be behavior when high, most likely both. "J" dropped off the radar and Ty started coming by a little more often. Shit like that flip-flopped around, with Ty mainly showing up with his fucking "Hey man! We’re tight aren’t we?" speech when he needed something. At first I was happy because I thought maybe something was changing, but then he pissed off my girlfriend with his drunken antics. Then his Mother calls from out of town at Zero Dark Hundred in the morning asking if I could bail his out of jail (DWI). Then he needed a place to keep his car while it had the boot on it. We stayed in contact but it was strained because Ty would mainly call when he needed something or wanted to bitch at 2:00am and I had to be at work at 6:30am. This would go on constantly and if I didn’t play the game then I was a SOB.

His Mom called again, this time at a more reasonable hour of 11:00pm. It was about a week after cutting Ty off from abusing our friendship again. She was frantic and worried that he might kill himself so my Girlfriend and I went to his place and got there in time to see Ty outside his apartment shouting at the complex. The police were called and when the cop arrived I spoke with him and told him that his Mom had called me, and that I had come to chill him out. It helped that I too was in law enforcement and he allowed me to help out. Ty had locked himself in the apartment when the cops came but we were able to talk ourselves in.

The boy was ripping drunk. He had just gotten done with his divorce and told us that he was sorry and that he would just go back to watching his kids who were visiting for the weekend. The Officer who was with me wanted to see the kids…but they were not there. Never had been, Ty was apparently so out of it that he was imagining things. The officer reluctantly left him in my care. After he left Ty went straight back into his bullshit and he got physical with me. After chilling him out I tried to get him to bed down for the night. When he took his shirt off I saw that he had these marks all over his torso. My first thought was meth. When I asked he said it was acne, which he did have as a kid. I just let it go. Any speech I gave at this time would have been wasted.

It took one more of his early morning "it’s all about me" phone calls and I told him to fuck off. I had enough and my Girlfriend had had enough. He got the message, at least for about a year, but he came over this weekend. At first my Girlfriend did not even recognize him and would not open the door. He wouldn’t go away and kept pounding on the door and ringing the bell. He came very close to running face to barrel with "Old Painless." It was only after we saw one of his undisciplined kids looking through a window that we knew who it was.

We opened the door and he just starts to walk in. No "hi" or nothing, just walks on in as if he owned the friggin joint. We had to stop him. My girl picked up the alcohol on his breath as soon as he spoke and wasn’t too keen on letting him in but did. We talked a bit and I immediately noticed that the marks had traveled to his face. He didn’t ask for anything but told me that he was pretty much homeless. He was working, but did not have a place of his own.

My main concern is what to do? The boy is near bottom. I can see it! I know that a woman can never get an addicted male to stop, but what about a male best friend? I just want to body snatch his ass and keep him locked away for a few months to detox him. I know that he will need a nurse or something, as he is totally dependent and would withdrawal hard.

If he wrecks and kills himself and/or those kids I’m going to feel like I haven’t done enough. I haven’t! When he came by with the kids, I let him drive off again. I was torn. My jurisdiction does not extend beyond my work site unless one has committed certain felonies, and stopping him always gets physical. Not a real problem as I can handle him, but I wouldn’t trust him not to try and sue me afterward. He is desperate and not thinking.

Does anybody have an idea? A life is at stake. I fear "J" maybe in a similar place also as he has disappeared again…at least from Ty. I haven’t tried to track him down again since we last lost contact.

God what happened to us kids!?

TPT