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    What'd Jay Cardosi say? Find out here.
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    Though originally from Chicago, Cardosi and wife, Laura, consider themselves Louisvillians.  Cardosi likens Louisville to being a “small, big town” where you can get anywhere you need to go in 20 minutes, but it has everything you need. Cardosi said you don’t have to go to a Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati or Nashville for big ticket items—“you’ve got all of those, right here.” He also said the people of Louisville are “tremendous.” Cardosi enjoys the restaurants, arts and entertainment of our fair city.

    Cardosi said the only thing he would change about Louisville would be the Kennedy Bridge and its notorious potholes, which he would like to see fixed.

    Does Cardosi enjoy his high-profile status in the community?  He tries to remember that his weather forecasting is first and foremost a job. "When someone does recognize me in public, I make it a point, always make it a point, to shake their hand and say, ‘thanks for watching,'” he said.

    Cardosi's job is rewarding, but can be stressful at times. “During severe weather is one of them and also the Derby Festival is another one of them,” Cardosi said. “There are a lot of outdoor events and you have to get the forecast right.”

    He used to deal with the stress by playing golf but now admits he rarely has the time to play. So instead, he puts on his tool belt for his other great love and method of decompression – carpentry. “I do a lot of work around the house,” Cardosi said. “At Iowa State, that’s how I put myself through school, carpentry on the side.”

    Cardosi was born on September 7 on the South side of Chicago.  He has two brothers and two sisters.  He described his child hood as happy and he was athletic, focusing primarily on football and baseball.  He attended Catholic schools: St. Patrick’s for elementary school and Bishop McNamera for high school. He played football from ages 6 to 18, and was on a winning state championship team at Bishop McNamera. That school enjoyed a reputation comparable to Trinity or St. Xavier, here locally, but on a slightly smaller scale.

    He played baseball as a youth until college, where at Iowa State he switched to fast-pitch softball.  He reported that he played third base and batted a very respectable .350.

    Cardosi met his wife Laura while at Bishop McNamera.  They both went on to Iowa State, and were married a short time after they graduated.  They have been married 22 years and have two daughters ages 17 and 15,  and a son, 12.

    Cardosi said that they have a special needs daughter who suffers from Prader-Willi Syndrome. “We’re heavenly involved with what we call the Prader-Willie Syndrome Foundation,” Cardosi said. “That’s where our time and effort and even our monetary schedule goes toward that research.”

    Cardosi, a Catholic says he makes an effort to go to church every Sunday or at least he tries to. “I try to instill that in my children as well,” Cardosi said. He tries to say grace before meals, a vestige of his faith, which was emphasized in his upbringing.

    On the whole, Cardosi is comfortable with his position in Louisville and at WLKY-32. One thing he would like to clarify, is his position on interrupting television programming to deliver severe weather information. Cardosi has received e-mails and voicemails and phone calls complaining of his delivery of severe weather information during regular TV programs. 

    “What they have to realize is if there were a tornado bearing down on their street, they would want to know where that storm was,” said Cardosi. “If there was a storm in their kids’ community, they would want to know what is going on. So I have to give the same respect to everybody in the viewing area, not just the Louisville area.

    “What people have to remember is ‘I have a family too’, and I’d rather be home with my children playing catch… than being here interrupting your favorite programs,” Cardosi said. “But it’s my job, and it’s something we do well and will continue to do.  It is my duty.”

    Protecting lives and property in the Louisville area and beyond, is a long way away from a Chicago football field some 40-something years ago… and a little boy, lying on his back, looking up at a strange cloud and thinking, ‘whoa, I want to be a weatherman!’

    Photo:  Ryan Armbrust

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    Bobby Densford's picture

    About Bobby Densford

    Born in Little Rock, Ark., but have lived most of my life here in Louisville. I love this city and cannot imagine living anywhere else. I like the Cards AND the Cats, and I enjoy working out, eating and writing.

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