In Tribute to Russell Green

Russ Green was one of the first people I got to know in Vacaville. He was in my first period World Geography class, Mr. Rocha's class. World Geography was a freshman requirement, Russ was a junior. Russ' dad did construction site clean-up in the neighborhood where my parents home was being built, and I got to know Noah Green, as well. It wasn't long before I was invited over to meet the whole Green clan, Dottie (Mom), Judy (Sister), and Jimmy (Nephew). Dottie was a Pentacostal Minister, and there was a converted church in the front of their house.
One thing the entire family had in common was an ability to talk, and tell stories. I spent more than a few evenings with the family, listening to them tell stories. Russ was, perhaps, the best story teller I have ever heard. About half of his stories were true, Russ would embellish some minor detail, making it fun. An example: Russ had to play a golf shot out of a ditch that was muddy, and pretty nasty. After hitting the ball back to the fairway, Russ came up out of the ditch, spotted his ball, and pronounced, "Not bad, considering I had to rassle dinosaurs to get to it."
At the Green's house, a simple question often got a lengthy answer. "Have you seen Russ?"
"Well, I saw him this morning, about eight. Saw him again 'bout noon. He went into his room a while back, and I haven't seen him since."
That was Noah. It was also Russ. Russ' favorite joke was this (and I hope I do him justice):

A man dies, and goes to Hell. He's sitting on a patio, under an umbrella, a cold drink on the table in front of him. People are going about socializing, and it isn't long before a man approaches him, introduces himself as The Devil, and welcomes the man to Hell.
"This isn't quite what I expected," the man confided.
"Oh, you'll have a great time here," The Devil replied. "We do lots of things, and since this is Hell, we can do it to excess. Are you a drinking man?"
"I've bent my elbow a time or two."
"Well, then you're going to love Mondays. We drink beer; we drink wine; we drink bourbon, and whiskey; we drink scotch; we drink gin; we drink vodka; we drink ouzo. We drink all day; we drink all night; we drink until we can't drink any more, and we go to bed."
"Sounds like a great party." The man observed.
"Do you smoke?" The Devil inquired.
"Yeah, I do."
"You're going to love Tuesdays, then. We smoke cigarettes; we smoke cigars; we smoke pipes; we smoke pot; we smoke opium; we smoke crack. We smoke all day; we smoke all night; we smoke until we can't smoke any more, and we go to bed."
"Cool."
"By chance," The Devil began, "are you a homosexual?"
"Uh, no, I'm not."
"Well, you're going to hate Wednsday.