Boop is the last story I will write about Cameron - for a little while anyway. I have written about Cam and about me, but this one is different because it is more about Cam and Julie - and their special connection. And how that wonderfully complicated relationship can be summed up in one word - Boop. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a word is worth a thousand words too. Read on...
As you know, Cam was a very "techy" person and he never went anywhere without his cellphone, laptop or iPad. Whenever we went on the road or when he was in hospital or in a motel the most important piece of luggage was always his tech bag. And it was usually off limits.
Communication with Cameron was always difficult, especially when he was in hospital as he rarely answered his phone or returned calls. Thank God (and Friedhelm Hillebrand) for the invention of texting, which seems to have been developed with Cameron in mind as it is very short and to the point - not a lot of words and sentences to get in the way. He was very skilled at texting and could type faster and more accurately with one thumb than most of us could with two hands and a full keyboard. I did my fair share of texting with Cameron but Julie did most of it. And it was looking forward to those small, brief messages on her phone that kept us going.
Sometimes it was just a request to bring something - like a phone charger or a back-scratcher. I won't say there were no complaints, but they were few and far between. Other times it was a demand for food - especially breakfast! Cameron loved his breakfast and sadly most hospitals seem to consider cold cereal and one piece of dry toast to be sufficient. Cam always preferred heartier fare and Julie received many a text requesting a bagel with cream cheese or his favorite - the famous D.E.C.H. muffin. Egg, bacon and cheese on a toasted English muffin, and nobody makes them like the Chalmers hospital cafeteria. Whenever Julie received a text for one of these it was always a good sign and we were more than happy to deliver.
But the messages that meant the most were the ones that Julie and Cam sent to each other with that one word - Boop. As far as I know Cam got the word from a TV show he used to watch called "Archer" and apparently the characters would touch someone on the nose and say Boop. There are other examples all over the internet but Cameron took this simple gesture and made it into an unspoken expression of affection. I have to be careful not to read too much into these things so I will just say that to Julie and Cam 'Boop' simply meant "Hello" or "Good night" or just indicated that they were thinking about each other.
I never got a Boop and I am fine with that - Julie always shared them with me, although I understood that it was something special between her and Cameron. Boop was more than just a word. It was a symbol of a special connection between them that will remain a great memory forever.
