Email archive regarding Johnny
Cameron's untimely passing, memories of life with Johnny, and funeral
info.
From: CooperDad
Dear Ones
Johnny's sister Karen called me this evening to tell me that Johnny had
died of a heart attack. I called Ann - who'd tried to call me but
was using the wrong area code - and she asked that I tell all of you.
They're bringing his body back from California for a memorial service,
date and time still unknown. Ann will call me when she
knows. She seemed to be taking it well. If you'd like to
call her, her phone is:
###########
I told her how he had a habit of calling me every few months just to
say hello. I'll miss that.
love
WW
From: Kit
Dad, John, and Tom;
I assume you can attend Johnny's funeral and give my condolences. I
thought I would pass these thoughts on.
Johnny Cameron was just older than me, lived across the street, and was
one of my first friends/playmates (other than Cooper boys).
One of my earlier memories is of playing darts and hanging out with
Johnny. We climbed trees together. I fell out of his
tree. We played games and sports. Johnny was a good boy
who, like all of us, relished destroying Army men and equipment.
Our little gang on 2nd Street, of which I must have been a very junior
member, played every conceivable outdoor game and sport - Johnny
was always there.
As I learned to ride a bike, it was Johnny that got me out of
practicing in Eddie Dowel's (sp?) yard and into the street. He
used my bike for a great number of record-breaking skids down Eddie's
new driveway. The next day, Mom suggested that I take to the
road. Thanks for putting me on the road, Johnny.
I remember the trumpet he played in the orchestra, blurted in front of
our house under John's window, and sounded reverently for a squirrel's
funeral. We watched him spit every 10 feet as he walked down the road
and we laughed as he transformed into different crazy characters - all
with some silly dysfunction. When he ran out of characters, he'd
create one with a quick stunt like pulling my shorts down in the middle
of the High School. I have a feeling I wasn't the only one to
receive that treatment. Johnny was fun and enjoyed being the
center of attention, outlandish and wild. Many of his stunts like
that were designed to create havoc of some sort. Perhaps that is
why he set the lawnmower on fire one day - but we may never know the
reason for that. Some of those stunts backfired, like the day he
attempted to scare the driver of the next car on 2nd Street by feigning
his own hanging - dangling from a rope in his own front yard. The
next car on the street was his Dad's.
Johnny played sports well. He ran with the Roosevelt track team
when I started. He also played basketball. Johnny had a lot
to do - It is just possible that he excelled at too many things; I
always felt a little less perfect in his presence, not bad, but like I
was following, could do better, do more. I'm sure that Johnny
didn't hesitate much when it came time to try something new, and that
was part of his success. For example, he didn't hesitate at all
to give me the worst haircut I ever received!
I will sorely miss his trumpet and I hope that someone can play taps at
his funeral. Many nights in college and since, I remembered
Johnny and the squirrel funeral.
The 2nd Street Gang will never be the same.
Kit
Lovely, Kit. We'll make sure it's read.
love
Dad
Eric: seems most people I talk to in the family want to read this. Hope
you don't mind.
Kit
- here is a copy of Eric's letter and
some other stuff from me at the bottom:
Cec, this is a copy of the mail I sent to Dad today. Following Kit's
lead, Dad, I want to get this message to Johnny Cameron's memorial
service. Could you please take it or give it to someone who can?
___________________________________________________________
I would like to contribute my memories of Johnny, in order to convey my
condolences and love to the Cameron family. Johnny was such a large
part of our lives when we were growing up. I guess only the Cooper
family calls him "Johnny", which he thought was funny.
Just last week, while watching Muppet Show reruns with my son, I
remembered how he would tease us for running in to see the Muppet Show.
It is a closely-guarded family secret, but more than half of the jokes
in our family are straight from Johnny, who is one of the funniest guys
I've ever known. He made all kinds of jokes, from one-liners and pranks
to fully-developed characters, each with its own voice and personality.
There were songs and stories and we still repeat many of them.
Johnny and I both went to college at the Maryland Institute. Actually,
Johnny was a major reason I went to the Institute. After a visit to the
college, he treated me to lunch at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. I remember
that lunch as if it happened yesterday. I was sick and he made me laugh
until I felt better. He also advised me that the Institute was a
college that drew some of the best artists in the country. If I wanted
to study art, he said, that was the place to do it. We didn't have many
classes together in college, as he was several years ahead of me, but I
do remember one class we had together. It was called Feminist
Literature and we were the only two men in a class full of disgruntled
women. After every class, we had a lot of good laughs "consoling" each
other. He never lost the ability to make me laugh so hard that my tummy
hurt. He's the only one besides my brother Karl who can make me laugh
so hard. Of course, Karl uses many of Johnny's jokes.
Besides Johnny's humor and excellent drawing skills, I liked him for
being a big brother to me at college (as if five big brothers weren't
enough - but none of them lived near Baltimore). Once he encouraged me
when I worried about finding a job after college, saying, "Eric, I've
known you since you were a baby. You were born lucky. You don't have to
worry about a thing." Since he expressed so much confidence in me, I've
often remembered it. Sometimes I would repeat it to myself, "You were
born lucky," although I no longer need any reminding.
So, I can honestly say that Johnny changed my life. And I'll never
forgive him for convincing me to go to the Institute. Just kidding.
Like most of the advice he gave me, it was a great decision. I'm sure
he would also tease me unmercifully for writing this letter.
"Rabble!" He says, in a falsetto voice. It still cracks me up. His
friendship will always be with me, just as his humor will always be
part of our family.
Eric Cooper
Well put. I will share them with his family.
Love,
Cec
From: Kit
I feel like I've had so many good people pass on in the last 10 years.
It gets harder for me each time, and truthfully, I cry each time - yes,
for Johnny too. Lately, I've been trying to write some memories and
thoughts each time - need to finish the one for Grandma.
I really wanted to say more about Johnny continuing to travel to Glenn
Dale - to stay involved with us. I've never been good at reaching out
and staying in touch like that. He took that extra effort and time to
be with us. He would bring video games for Eric and Frank and was just
a great friend.
I wanted to say something about the artist in Johnny, after all that
became a large part of his life. It seems, sometimes, we get such a
small glimpse of someone, and I wonder why my glimpse wasn't longer or
more aware. I don't know as much about Johnny as an artist as I'd like
to. Since childhood I was impressed by his abilities, and every now and
then I would see more and be inspired and awed again. I wanted to leave
it to Eric to say more - Johnny went to Eric's college and I think Eric
would have better insight. I did run into Johnny during or just after
college. He was painting a mural on all the walls of an ice cream or
sandwich shop in College Park, a paying job. He showed all the parts to
me with an enthusiasm and happiness I hadn't expected. Today, I wish I
had taken some pictures or visited that shop more often. It was a zoo
or a jungle I think.
Please bring this and any other testimony to the Camerons - I could
never be even this organized in thought when speaking.
Kit
From: Cecily
I really enjoyed reading your email regarding Johnny. Thanks so
much, it made me laugh and cry. You are very sweet and really should
share this with his mom. Let me know and I will bring it to her. I
expect to go to the funeral or at least the viewing if I am in town.
Love,
Cecily
From: Kit
Thanks Tom.
Use any of the material I have sent - Karl says the reference to having
my pants pulled down in High School should be left out. Bottom
line is - he was always there to create a good time.
Frank says that when Johnny showed up in Glenn Dale he knew it would be
an exciting day. Johnny would buy video games for Eric and later
Frank, bring them by the house to play with them one time, then leave
the game.
Karl said that Johnny , Karl, and John would sneak out of the house at
4am to run around the neighborhood - I never knew that.
Apparently one day John and Karl made it outside and walked to the
Camerons house to find Jonny on the porch with his Mom - nabbed in the
act. She gave them some Orange and Lemonade drink and sat with
them awhile.
Karl and I independently remembered the time that Johnny put red food
coloring all over his leg, laid his bike off the curb, and splayed
himself on the ground (again, waiting for unsuspecting
drivers...). Karl and I hid in Kevin Stairs' yard, behind the
fence (sidenote- both of us knew we hid with someone, but neither was
sure who it was until we talked). A car of teenagers came
cruising by - when they got past Johnnie, the car suddenly stopped and
screached in reverse back toward Johnny - Johnny got up and RAN like
mad. The teenagers cursed him loudly. It was great.
Karl also remembered the fishingline/trashcan incident - where did he
dream that one up?
Oh - Karl says that it was Johnny who came up with the big slingshot -
a bicycle inner tube across our feet that could lauch... er... rocks
... a long way - easily 100 yards. I remember having a spotter to
check the landing zone as we fired THINGS from the backyard to
Brightlea Drive (sp?).
Someone should get ahold of Eddie Dowell (Karl thought it was Eddie
Dow). I thought he had passed away as well, but Karl said he saw
him last time he was in MD - at Denny's. Also, Debbie Selke
_____ (new last name) who lives in the old house and any of the old 2nd
street crew.
I asked Karl to write something too - hope he does.
Kit
From: Tom
Eric,
Dad gave me your message for the services this week. No date has
been set yet, but Johnny should be flown back tommorrow or the next
day, and the funeral service should be within a week. The funeral home
is Gasch's in Hyattsville. The church is in Severna Park. The
internment will be at Mount Olivet Cemetary in Frederick. I talked to
Laurie today. She will not be able to attend any of the services in
Maryland, because she is due to have her first child in three weeks or
so. She loved to hear about all that Johnny meant to each of us, and
she laughed at all of the old stories. She says she feels "hollowed
out" by the loss of her little brother, and she knows we are all
hurting, too. I read her your message, and I told her about your family
-- She sends her love. I'm trying to handle a few of the details for
Ann, and once I know the date of the services, I'll try to get some
help with the escort as well (Johnny really liked the police
motorcycles that helped out with Mark's funeral.) Laurie had a bagpiper
play at the service in California, and I told her that I would get a
piper at the cemetary here. Are there any people I should be calling?
(Rupa knows already, and was able to attend the services in
California.) Do you have a number for his friends Mina or Cam? The only
numbers I have are disconnected. If the funeral is on Saturday, only
John and I will be able to attend, so make sure you send us anything
you want read. One of us will also be among the pallbearers, as well,
at Ann's request. She says she has always known how much we loved
Johnny. If there's anything you think needs to be done or said, just
call me.
PS, I'm gonna cc Karl this, too. Hey Karl -- I haven't had
a chance to talk to you yet. Call me or email anytime. Write me with
anything you want me to read at the service. Or just call me and tell
me it all sucks. My pager number is the same ##### if you can't reach
me at home.
PS: I just got an email from Kit. I haven't talked to him
either. So I'm gonna cc him, too. Hey, Kit. Leo said you called him.
Call sometime and we'll talk. Send anything you want read, and I'll try
to read it. It might be tough, because I find myself crying just
thinking about it. Johnny had a spark that most people just don't.
There are a hell of a lot of people who should have died before he did.
I told Laurie that for the Cooper kids, he wasn't just a friend; he was
like a little brother to half of us, and a big brother to the rest. She
got most of his time for the last three years or so, and she says we
always came up in conversation. There's no doubt he knew how much we
loved him. You mentioned the mural at Yogurt Jungle. Johnny let me park
my bike out of the rain while he worked on it once. I still remember
the little band of EXTREMELY VIOLENT apes he painted in one of the
backgrounds. Later on, I could never find the apes -- I have a feeling
he painted them in just for my visit. Anyway, like you I find myself
crying at the loss of friends and family, more than I ever thought I
would. But for Johnny, it's appropriate. 37 years old ? He died too
damn soon, and with him he took the nine year old, the twelve year old,
the eighteen year old, and the twenty-nine year old that I'll always
remember. Along with Rabble Rabble, the Faggy Mantis, and Pumpkinseed.
I will miss them all. You think we weren't his brothers? Laurie says he
applied for a new apartment last week, and on the application his
emergency contact was Dad, at our "new house" in Glenn Dale.
From: John
Just stopped by the Camerons' old house today (our old house has a "We
Buy Houses" sign on it and a pile of furniture in the front yard, btw).
The tree is still outside his bedroom window. I remember I hardly ever
saw the rest of the inside of his house; I'd climb up the tree and
through the window. I think he used the tree entrance about half the
time. It was very convenient.
I was an accomplice during the Fake Hanging Incident. I was showing him
how to tie some knots, and when I showed the hangman's knot, a little
gleam appeared in his eye, and he said something like, "What could we
attach the other end to?" Then after tying it to a limb of a tree in
the front yard, he asked me for other historical information, and I
told him about using a horse or a chair to drop the victim. He ran in
the house and got a chair, and soon after that we were taking turns
kicking out the chair and "hanging" each other -- not actually putting
the rope around our necks, of course, but holding onto the rope in such
a way to make it look theatrically realistic. In the process we made
two cars almost swerve off the road. His dad was in the third car. He
parked the car and calmly started lecturing us about how dangerous our
stunt happened to be, ramping up his anger as he went along, until we
found ourselves immersed in big big trouble.
Johnny really liked staging roadside skits for random drivers. One time
Johnny, Karl, and I (and maybe Thom?) started a fake fight by the
roadside, where we were all "kicking the crap" out of Johnny. A guy
screeched his car to a stop, jumped out to get into the fight, and when
we all got up and laughed, he wanted to fight us all (adrenaline still
raging I guess). So we ran away.
I remember one time I showed Johnny how to fall off a fence backwards
from a sitting position, and we spent a good two hours falling off of
fences for the occasional audiences in cars.
Johnny is one of two people who could call me at three in the morning
and I'd enthusiastically wake up and chat for an hour or so. Karl can
call at all hours too, the rest of you can take your chances.
In recent years, any time he called, the conversation was guaranteed to
be fascinating: books and movies, art, games -- Johnny ate them up
voraciously and was always hungry for more, he had a subtle and very
strong intelligence that sneaked up on you. He often talked about old
friends, the 2nd street gang, recon missions through the heavily
guarded bible college, and later when we were much too old for it,
drinking together, climbing buildings in Baltimore, riding motorcycles,
etc. He had a memory and poetry for those old times, he'd ramble on
about our adventures and the imagery and feelings would all come
flooding back in dreamlike detail. I hope he knew how much _life_ he
added to my life. He'll always be a brother, a friend, and a legend for
me.
I wish I could say some of this and more at the funeral, but I don't
think I can.
--
j
From: CooperDad
I'm glad I'm just learning about some of this stuff now. But we
must be sure these memories get to Johnny's family (maybe I should say
"the rest of his family" since he seems to have been part of ours) in
some form, written or otherwise.
love
Der Kaiser
From:
Thom
The funeral services for Johnny will be held on Saturday, the First of
May, at 11:00 in the morning.
The funeral, in Severna Park, Maryland will be followed by a half hour
or so of time to get together and talk, before the funeral escort to
Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland. We need to be at the
cemetery before 3:30 PM, so we're going to try to get there a little
before 3:00. There will be another, shorter service at the cemetery.
Funeral:
Severna Park Baptist Church
506 Benfield Road
Severna Park, MD 21146
(410) 647-0765
Interment:
Mount Olivet Cemetery
515 S. Market Street
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 662-1164
The funeral home is Gasch's in Hyattsville (301) 927-6100. I'm not sure
whether it will be better to send flowers to the funeral home or
straight to the church. I will call tomorrow and have an answer. I am
also arranging for a piper for the funeral, but I haven't gotten a firm
commitment yet. Call me on my pager ###### if there is something else I
need to do. (I will be at the range all week, so don't leave messages
at the office.) If you can think of anyone who we need to notify of the
funeral arrangements, give me a call.
From: CooperDad
Dear Thom
Here's my brief, barely adequate memory of Johnny. If you think
it's appropriate, please read it or pass it on with the lovely
reminiscences that John and Kit and Eric - and probably you and lots of
others - have penned.
love
Dad
I can't tell you many details about the Johnny that lived across the
street from us on 2nd Street. My kids and his other friends his
age can tell you a lot more wonderful tales about him. The Johnny
that I know is a later one, an adult who still carried so much of his
beautiful youth inside him. And it would shine when he spoke with
you.
The other night I was going through some 3X5 cards by my phone. I
came across a card that said "John Cameron". It had his telephone
number and was dated November '03. And I was reminded of the
Johnny I knew, the one who used to call me up every few months.
Usually it was just to check in, say hi, talk a bit. Sometimes he
had a new telephone number or email for me. Often it was around some
holiday. Always we'd have a good talk about any number of
things: the old days on 2nd Street, calligraphy, art, what he was
doing, what the Cooper's were doing. It was very much as if one
of my own kids had called to keep me up to date. And I invariably
felt good after those chats. They were satisfying the way so many
beautiful things are: indefinable but sure.
I know I'll remember him now on the holidays and sometimes just late in
the evening when that call from the coast would come. I will miss
those moments. I will miss his laughter, his ideas, his
voice. But the warmth, the feeling of beauty and goodness that
those calls of his brought with them, they will remain.