The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

So, I talked to an old buddy of mine on the phone last week. He came out of the closet to his closest friends about 10 years ago and we were all fine with it. None of us were surprised. In fact, when he came out to me, I didn't even realize at first he had just come out, because rightly or wrongly, I kind of assumed it. When he came out to his parents, unfortunately, they weren't as accepting. His mother seemed disappointed, but could live with it. His father was a different beast entirely and wanted nothing to do with him. So, my friend, I'll call him Bill, was disowned by his own parents. Ever since that point, he's battled problems with alcohol and drugs, has moved around a bunch and has come back home wanting his parents' acceptance. They'd take him back for a short while, thinking they could "cure" him of this obvious illness and when that didn't happen, they'd kick him out again. Just last week, Bill told me he had recently spoken t...