Cami Cardinale

Cami had a way of making you feel like you were the center of the universe when you were with her.  We met at an unlikely place - Fort Knox, Kentucky.  When you have 350 smelly testosterone pumping guys in full battle dress all in one place the last thing you expect to find is a hot chick with a camera.

But there she was and within a few hours she was being called "Hot Camera Chick" by all.  Her smile was infectious and distracting, but there was something about Cami that you just couldn't describe.

Over the years she and I talked more and more and during the summer of 2008 when I hit absolute rock bottom, she scaled the walls I had built around me and showered me with her special kind of friendship.

When I flew into LA for the bar exam (Take One) she picked me up from the airport.  Cami kept me distracted with conversation through dinner and into the evening.  As I was beginning to get nauseated about the exam in the morning she grabbed me by the hand and dragged me out of the hotel room.  Cami said nothing as she pulled me down the street in my socks.  We ran a couple of blocks when she suddenly stopped and pulled me into the iceplant off the sidewalk.  I still had no idea what she was doing when the Disney Fireworks show exploded in front of us. 

We stood there together for what seemed like an eternity in a friend's embrace watching the show.  When it was finished we silently walked back to my hotel room and she stayed with me until I fell asleep.

Without Cami there that day I would have packed my things and gone home before the bar exam even started.  And with each failure she smiled and encouraged me, reminding me that she believed in me and a lot of other people did too.

I had not seen Cami in quite a while so I was so happy that she was coming to dinner with us this past Thanksgiving.  When she texted me that she was outside and needed help getting everything in we all ran out excited to see her.  And waited.  And waited some more.  And waited some more.

Cami didn't know that here in Phoenix they have a Street, Avenue, Drive, Place and Circle for nearly every street name.  She ended up a couple of blocks over instead of my mom's house. 

When the old man answered her knock on the door Sadie and Triste ran right into the wrong house and Cami just smiled and with her arms full of pies announced that she was there for dinner.  I'm certain the old man will talk about it for many years.  She just has a way into your heart like that.

She made it to our house and we spent the evening talking about old times and times yet to come.  As she left I hugged her and whispered in her ear how much I love her.  The twinkle in her eye was all I needed to know she understood.

Cami made this world a better place and I cannot fathom it without her. 

I am so grateful that I was able to be even a small part of how big she lived life.  As much as my heart aches I know she wants me to keep living big, following the road less travelled, and never letting anything stop me from dreaming the impossible into reality.

And I know that whatever is next beyond this world, when we get there she will be jumping up and down with her trademark smile, waiting to give us the biggest hugs and tell us what she has been up to.