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| NAME: Deborah NICKNAME: "Debbie" HOOKED-UP: 1987 NOTEWORTHY: Although not knowing how they came to know each other, Debbie & I met through Cathy, making her my last link on "The Tina Chain."(TM) I guess what strikes me as most odd is how Debbie went to a different school (Cleveland) than Cathy, who was enrolled at Canoga same as Tina, Judy & myself. In fact, a striking difference between Debbie and the previous three is how we met off campus: it was one of those times Cathy came over to visit, and she brought Debbie along. Looking back at it now, I am almost convinced that Cathy was trying to play match maker for us...although it is impossible for me to understand why. Regardless, Cathy's plan worked: Debbie & I found each other attractive, and soon got together. Although not in the same school, it was still easy to frequently see one another since she lived just over a mile up the street. Biking over there was easy for me. Debbie was a sweet girl. She had a nice demeanor, liked to follow trends and keep up with what was deemed "cool" as we all did. And she was prone to the type of school girl crushes we're all aware of--where the name of a favored boy is written all over scratch paper and notebooks. It was certainly flattering to find my name (in ink) on her books & binders. Although getting together wasn't difficult, finding things we had in common was. As is typical with teens, interesting topics for conversation were challenging for us to come by. I wasn't all that worldy (thanks to a very sheltering mother); and she was socially inept as a hostess. Between the two of us, there was minimal talking, constant verbal fumbling and frequent uncomfortable silences. This wouldn't be a problem for two people that spent most of their time suckin' face; but we were far from physical with each other... having only shared the occasional kiss. In looking back at that relationship now, I see myself making the same type of mistake as when getting together with Tina & Judy. While finding this female more attractive, I still failed to look long enough before leaping. She was cute, and seemed to like me; so I jumped at the chance to date her. But after that initial week of ogling one another, and having far too little to say, the lack of chemistry was apparent. Our relationship was weak to begin with, and had nowhere to go. At the time, for her to break it off with me after only one week seemed premature. It certainly caught me by surprise; even hurt a little. But in retrospect, it was for the best. It could have been the result of her seeing things for what they were (even if I couldn't), and taking appropriate action; or maybe she just got tired of me after one week. Thus reaffirming my status as being A Novelty That Wears Off. Story of my life. However, through all of that we started a friendship that lasted for a number of years. Months at a time would pass between hearing from her; but when she called or stopped by, it was like hardly any time had passed. We got along and remained friendly, even going out to shoot pool with TOBY and other friends on occasion. One of the last times I saw her was in 1991: she had just enlisted in the military (for reasons I will never understand), and wanted to visit with as many friends as she could before leaving for boot camp on The East Coast. TOBY & I went to visit her, and were shocked by the fact that she had lopped off her hair. That--in addition to joining the Army--made me think she was someone I didn't know anymore. In thinking about it further, ya had to wonder if I ever knew her very well at all. Later that year, while TOBY was overseas in the Navy for their '91 WestPac, Debbie and a friend stopped by for a brief visit; and that was the last time I can remember seeing her. In subsequent years, after relocating to Oklahoma, she got married, gave birth to her first child and settled down. We exchanged some letters and phone calls for the next couple years; but eventually lost touch. Wherever she may be now, I hope that she is doing well. __________________________ |