When I was about 3 years old, I met a kid my age that lived a few doors down the street. We became best friends and hung out together until he dropped out of high school our junior year.

SteveMcN, Flickr
SteveMcN, Flickr
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I still ran into him occasionally over the years because we ran with the same circle of friends.

It was obvious to me early on that my friend was fighting some demons and was abusing alcohol on a regular basis.

As the years went by, I would seen him less frequently. When i did see him, he looked a little on the rough side due to his drinking.

His friends and family did all they could to get him into treatment but he resisted offers for help. Eventually, most gave up on him.You'd think that after relationships and jobs evaporated, occasionally homeless, one could trace all their problems to one thing

For me, it's easy to say, "just quit drinking" but we all know alcoholism is a terrible disease and quitting is certainly easier said than done.

I should mention, my friend was a very smart, charismatic guy who probably could have taken the world by storm.

My smart, charismatic old friend was found dead, in his apartment.yesterday.

If this sounds like someone you know, try your best to get them to help themselves.

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