Here follow my good memories and thoughts about my dear beloved friend Camille.
I recall Camille fondly, nursing a bottle of fine and
inexpensive red wine with her wit and intelligent banter, listening to her pontificate
on a variety of subjects, listening to her short whispered insights and stories.
Her lust for life and her love for Michael were evident in every word. She was
fun to listen to too. She could discuss any subject with clarity and
sensitivity. Camille knew how to use satire in her talk. She was very precise
and short winded. Listening to her made me laugh and made me think. Camilla
made me feel special, like my ramblings mattered.
I remember when we were at Columbia University together. I
had a young child and Camille was very friendly. Camille convinced me to take a
class on film with her. One day, my young son Joey, 7 years old at the time had
no school and I had my movie class. The class was packed and Camille led me to
in front of the front row of seats and we lay down to watch Fassbinder. Joey
loved movies too. He ended with his head on Camille’s shoulder with her arm
around him. After this, Joey loved Camille too.
I remember when Camille would do one-third the amount of work I did for a class and she’d pull an A and I’d pull a B or B+. She gave me her paper to study, telling me to say less and focus more. All of our professors loved her too. One came to weekly family dinners and it seemed like roles switched when his marriage was on the rocks and Camilla acted like his therapist.
I recall when she told me she’d met Michael. I asked how
they got together. She told me that she’d been planning to go to Mexico to
study a Gypsy community there and Michael protested that they’d just only met;
he didn’t want her to go. Camille said she presented her solution: “Marry me
and go with me to Mexico.” He did and they’d had a big adventure in Mexico.
Camilla was honest and forthright. You knew you could depend
on her not to bullshit you. If you wanted the truth of what she thought, she’d
give it to you straight. She wasn’t beyond offering coddling when needed
either. Plus she was simply and deliciously beautiful, inside and out. Whoever knew
Camille knew Camilla could make you feel special. Camille never tried hard to
look sexy or pretty, she didn’t have to. She naturally had the most beautiful
hair, the greatest skin, and she had va-va –voom!
Camille had many special talents. She made you feel like every utterance, every incantation, every word, was only meant for you and that your every utterance was just as meaningful. I remember how impressed I was when Camilla began exploring her more creative side with photography. Up till now I’d only seen her intellectual side. She even began producing her own photos in a dark room she designed and made with Michael’s help. Her photos were stories that began to develop into complex tales. She became very adept and I imagined her work in galleries. They were good, tasteful, and artsy.
I will achingly miss her. What I will hold dear in my memory
is that Camille is a bright light who shined upon us in this world. I was
blessed to have been included in part of her life.
