I did send son a note pretty much outlining what I said above about why it wouldn't be appropriate for me to talk with her. He seems to understand. I reemphasized that he needs to encourage her to get her parents to take her to the doctor to address her depression and other issues.
He's a good kid. I'm sure he'll end up "rescuing" girls - I just hope that when he finally ends up with one that's serious, that he "rescues" a poor but bright and ambitious girl, or a bright and funny but slightly chubby girl, instead of a depressed, unstable girl!
Had a lovely evening last night, some good friends of 25+ years drove into town to see their nephew speak at a local university, and we joined them. He gave an excellent lecture on diversity as part of their Black History Month. He is an excellent speaker - funny, moving, entertaining. He's African American but with Indian and white ancestors as well. (One of his white ancestors was a slave-holder who married and freed a slave, then went around to try to convince other slave-holders to free some of their slaves.)
His name is Mohammed Bilal (I guess he was a minor celebrity some years ago with a brief stint on The Real World in SF). It was truly enjoyable, and great as always to see these friends of ours as well (they are an interracial couple, married 30 years, just a great couple).
