Rodney

There's not a lot you _can_ do. Keep shooting from the hip. Life has damaged him, and unfortunately it's mainly up to him to start listening to what people around him say. Is that fair or easy? No. But he has to deal. No one can do it for him.

That said, do try to rally any troops still back at home to help this guy. Keep the dialog open and _if_ you think it'd help, maybe schedule a visit. That's gonna cost ya, and it's probably too extravagant. On the other hand, if somebody keeps saying "I care, I care, this is what you should do" by email, and then actually bothers to travel 2000 miles to say it in person, maybe it could sink in that even though his friends are now distant, they really really care.

I don't know whether this is really wise or not. Might just be a useless gesture. But there are a couple of guys I would have done it for, 'way back when.