I would like to start tonight's memorial celebration with a story of a beginning. The story of how Carla and I first met. There are thousands of entrances and exits in our lives, some of them have little impact on us but others leave a mark for eternity. The story of Carla's entrance and exit in my life is one that has left a mark and will have an impact on everything I do for the rest of my life.
I met Carla on July 15, 2008, her 27th birthday. Some friends and I (many of whom became Carla's friends and are here tonight) were meeting down at The Tavern in Scotch Plains to watch the All-Star game. As Brad and I walked in I noticed this girl (Marisa) at the bar whom I had met a few weeks prior. I went up to say hi and it turned out that she was there celebrating her sister's birthday with some friends. As she introduced us, Brad and I both noticed a pair of crutches leaning on the bar, and we asked if either one of them had hurt their leg. Carla, in a non-dramatic smooth tone responded, "No, I have breast cancer and it spread to my bones." That was my first introduction to Carla's special way of just laying it all out there.
From that night on, a bond formed between the two of us and over the next few years it grew stronger and stronger: from harassing Marisa, to acting silly at parties, to creating amazing Halloween costumes, to serious conversations about the things going on in our lives. Carla and I became more than friends---we became siblings.
Being around Carla for the last few years showed me what real strength is and I hope I was able to reflect that back to her in the last weeks of her life. I hope that my actions showed her how much I loved her and how important she was as a sister to me. I found a quote by Tom Stoppard that I thought was appropriate: "Every exit is an entrance somewhere else."
Carla, although your exit was too soon, I hope that you are making a grand and rocking entrance to the next phase and I know that wherever you are, you will continue to make a lasting impressions on those you meet just as you made on everyone in this room and beyond.
