r. lindberg tribute to ron criswell, part 1

[Martin Earl]

23 January 2018

List,

I have taken Ross's poignant tribute and truncated it into 5 shorter vignettes which I will publish separately.

revmaaatin.

13 Jan 2018

Gravevine, TX

Ross Lindberg s tribute to Ron Criswell

Part 1:

Life is full of surprises. Sometimes those surprises are bad, such as this

morning when I discovered I have gotten too fat to button my sport

coat. Yes, that was not a pleasant surprise .

At first I was mortified. The jacket fit perfectly the last time I wore it.

After a moment of panic, I could see the twinkle in Ron s eye and

remembered his smile. Yes, he would have laughed and had something

funny to say about my predicament. I realized then that I had one

more Ron story and that everything would be alright. Ron would have

laughed and approved.

But sometimes, the surprises are more wonderful than you could ever

expect. One of those surprises for me was having Ron as my friend.

I am a private person. I don t let people into my life easily, but Ron was

a rare exception. Upon meeting, we immediately became close friends.

It was clear to me that Ron was a man of character and integrity. He

was a man who I loved dearly and genuinely treasured as a friend.

His character shown clearly in the love he had for Connie, and I was

genuinely touched when I saw the photos from their wedding. While

he was always smiling when I was with him, and his smile is in all of his

photos, there was a special smile and look in his eyes that was reserved

for their wedding day. He has a look in his eyes that says I got the

prize! and it was that opinion, and the love he had for Connie, that he

carried with him throughout their life together, and I was fortunate

enough to hear it every time he spoke of her. I can honestly say that I

know what true love is, because I have seen it through Ron s eyes.

His character also shone in the pride he had in his son Damon with his

only frustration being the inability to find the words to express just how

proud he was of his talents and accomplishments. I too feel the

frustration of finding the words to express how much I admired and

respected Ron. It has been a blessing to me to be able to meet the

people who were so dear to him. end Part 1