lindberg's criswell tribute, part #2

[Martin Earl]

Ross Lindberg tribute to Ron Criswell: [color=#000000]13 Jan 2018 [/color] Part 2-

Ron and I had a lot in common; a shared love of motorcycles, travel and

adventure. We also shared a sense of humor that seemed to blend and

complement each other. We had been planning a motorcycle trip to

Moab, Utah when our mutual friend revmaatin [the officiant for Ron s service] fell off his motorcycle two weeks before we were to leave. With Martin too injured to ride, our

trip was cancelled. Ron and I still had fun though. We took turns

sending Martin pictures of mobility scooters and motorcycles with

training wheels attached. Martin did not find this nearly as humorous

as Ron and I did, but he must have found some enjoyment in our antics

because he has since made falling off his motorcycle an annual occurrence.

Not to worry; Ron and I were always at the ready to have a

bit of fun at Martin s expense.

There was some good natured kidding between Ron and I as well. Ron

couldn t understand why I chose to live in a place covered by snow five

months out of the year. I would in turn kid him about cowboy hats and

boots, and we both enjoyed the good-natured joking. Ron was a

fantastic ambassador for the state of Texas, and he did his best to

convince me to move here. He almost succeeded a couple of times, but

I remain traumatized by the pictures of bat wing soup that he sent me.

He assured me that it was delicious, but I decided that bat wing soup

was a level of adventure best left to professionals and people wearing

cowboy hats.

We were also able to confide in each other, with the freedom to ask

each other for advice, which was always thoughtfully and carefully

considered. When the air conditioning in his home malfunctioned, the

repair technician discovered a seven foot long snake skin in Ron s attic.

There were signs that the snake was in all likelihood alive and well

somewhere within the house. Ron called me at work, explained the

situation and asked me how I would handle it. I told him I would burn

down the house and immediately move to North Dakota where we

didn t have things like that happen even in our worst nightmares. As he

hung up the phone, he told me that he finally understood my decision

to remain in North Dakota. Cold and snow didn t sound like such a bad

thing after all.