I was first told of CR's passing by my friend Rom. We were in a room where others certainly knew as well that I had not. Shortly after entering, the room cleared and Rom spun a few laps around the table before sitting down with me and disclosing the news. I certainly wanted to think he was joking but he was not. I frantically called onto other close friends of CR and certain truth was confirmed and sadness sunk. He was too young. Not to mention, he already survived a head injury that anyone else not CR would have certainly struggled to survive from. He became a man of invincibility. He became one of the closest friends of my life.

Throughout the process of building CR's CRJ, I learned a lot about him and the challenges he faced recovering from that accident. He certainly changed; I was the first to admit. He certainly talked in circles at times and he often was quick to change his mind - from what sometimes was pure trivia. However he never lost his talent for gut feel. This most obviously transpired in his skiing where we watched him dominate big mountain lines with park tricks at ease. He could pinball down the mountain like he had done a 100 times, bouncing tricks to stomps like nothing. But that gut feel skill wasn't always one you could watch from the comfort of your living room. He shared it with me most distinctly when we engaged in the CRJ. He came into the project with zero engineering skills. He was attempting a self-education for Adobe Creative Suite. He thought this would help him draw on his computer what he could on paper. He was certain on what needed to happen in that project but it was better said than drawn or written. It was his gut feel that drove the shape into the ski that it is today. And later, the projects continued and so did his ability to communicate more clear and concise than ever. After all, he was committed 100% to recover mentally from his accident and succeed in the next chapter of life. To watch this evolution, was entertaining and incredibly inspirational.

Inspirational is what leads me to this title. Life without CR.

Without CR life will become considerably more challenging for all those close to him. He was unlike anyone I had ever known. He possessed a very distinct and positive outlook that was used interchangeably at all times. His stance on the weather was the same on how we'd fix the flat tire. His perspective on life was "enlightened," to use a word from a previous call I just had with Freedle Coty. CR made the days where you weren't stoked, stoked again. He was calm and collective when stresses would occur and would always assure that its all gonna work out. He's been a crutch for me in many ways and I am deeply saddened to have lost him already. I, like the rest of us, will continue on as best possible, attempting to act, talk, think and hopefully ski the way he would. 

Peace CR.