Reflections
Reflections
First years
As a youngster and teenager
All grown up
Photo Album
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Email me:
micdeal@hawaii.rr.com
As a youngster
By the time he was a young boy entering grade school the "testy" and
assertive side to his personality began to surface Always one of the smaller
kids on the block, he was often picked on by the older kids. With the help
of his Grandpa Ramos and his uncles, he learned at a tender young age not
to take their bullying sitting down. His grandpa was a boxer in his younger
days and Cammy, like his uncles, had to learn how to "put up his dukes."
His Grandpa always said,"If you want to play...play. But don't come home crying"
He hung out with my little sister, Carolyn most of the time, with his younger
brother occasionally tagging along. She was a tough one and he had to be
tough, too, to be able to hang out with her. They were a pair...always looking
for new ways to get into mischief. As a teenager
The summer before he entered the seventh grade, Cammy took a summer
class in cooking at the YWCA in town. He had
developed an interest in cooking from watching his Grandma Ramos cook.
Grandma Deal recognized his talent when she watched him slice spam in
nice even slices (something she said she couldn't do). She was the one
who signed him up for the classes. Of course, being the only boy there,
he was the hit of the class. From that time on, the phone did not stop ringing.
Sometimes I think he had that all planned. However, his love for cooking
continued on through his teen years and into his adult life. It was in
the seventh grade that Cammy took an interest in learning to play an musical
instrument and took up the bass clarinet. He was 13 when his sister
Lesleyanne was born. She was the sunshine of his life and he was a wonderful
and doting big brother. When I was sick or out of commission, he was right
there to take over operations in our home. He even made sure his brother
did his homework.
His high school years were very challenging and emotional years
for him. Like many kids his age, this was a time when he stretched
his wings. He became very involved with Theater. Although he was mainly
involved in the technical aspects of theater, he did have a major role in
one of Castle Theater Guild's productions. He and a good friend, Mike Jenness,
started to do some freelance work as theater techs. They did lighting,
sound, set building, etc. for various production groups. One of the highlights
of his high school years was a trip he made with the Castle Theater Guild
to Ball State University in Muncie Indiana to participate in their annual
Thespian Festival. During this trip they also traveled to Washington
D.C., Philadelphia and New York City.
During this time in his life he developed the strong desire to go
into business for himself. He was very ambitious for someone his age.
He often reminded me of the character "Alex" of "Family Ties" Whenever
he became involved in a project, he put his whole heart and soul into it.
He would often work after school, nights, and weekends. It would frustrate
him to no end if couldn't meet a particular goal he set for himself. While
in high school, he developed strong lifelong friendships. Many of them
are still very close and dear to us.
When he was 18 years old he and Mike Souza, a close friend joined
the Air National Guard and went into basic training together.
That was the first time he was away from home for more than 2 weeks. Like
most homesick airmen, he called home often (collect, of course) and my phone
bill was outrageous. I remember one phone call in particular when he was
very excited because there was a tornado on base and he was observing it
(through a window) coming toward the barracks. He was on the phone with
me describing this experience while everyone else was evacuating. I had to
tell him to hang up and join them. Being in the Air Force was a good experience
for him and helped him to mature.
Shortly after he came home from basic training, he decided to try his hand at being a business owner. One of his first experiences was an auto-detailing business detailing cars for Hertz Car Sales. He had 2-3 employees working for him. After that experience he and a couple of friends went into painting residential homes. It was during time in his life that he suffered a great loss.... the death of his Grandma Ramos. He was 18 years old.