I know you're not asking for advice, but a friend of mine from work's son faced a similar situation. They enrolled him in karate. He hasn't had to fight, but he walks tall enough now that no one bothers him. Worth a thought, mebbe.
Hope I’m getting everyone who commented. Thanks for the concern and the advice.
Ramius, in public schools (at least today), the problem with fighting back is that both kids get in trouble. That said I know that this is not exclusive to public schools and that the same could happen in a private school.
Having Luke come when we were in our early 40s (and spending over 6 weeks in the hospital with HUGH medical bills) and taking in Nana have really put is in a position where we can’t homeschool. Not right now anyway. And, the reality is, we’re taking care of four generations here.
Lil’, karate is an excellent idea. We have friends from church who run a martial arts school. We’ve talked about getting Luke into classes as soon as life settles down (whenever that will be).
Plus, he’ll be doing a lot of day camps (most of which are outdoor/woodsy type of camps) this summer. That should help.
Of course, having said all of this, he seems unphased. He’s happy the kid is gone and that’s the end for him. Mrs. and I, however, are basket cases (admittedly, it’s not been the best of weeks, months, centuries...)