Remembering Debra: Our First Date

by ​Wallis Jacob Becks Loewen

A first date to remember: Flash back to Tuesday February 6 th 1990.

I was a dj and I always had a partner to make it easier, but my business partner had just announced that he was quitting because he was getting engaged and thought that he should stop dj'ing. All my friends were either engaged or married and I seemed to be a lone wolf, so to speak.

I found myself being somewhat distressed and went to see a friend that I knew from a former job at the old location of the California Mexican restaurant Carlos & Pepe's on Stanley Street. I knew the bartender well and went to commiserate as to my situation. We spoke and drank a bit and I stayed till closing and got a lift home as we both lived on the South Shore of Montreal.

The next night, I got a phone call from him asking if I wanted to meet a woman that his wife knew, apparently he had spoken to his wife and Debra was her best friend. He said that she was no beauty queen but had a nice personality, (to me now I think she was/is beautiful and she had a great bubbly personality), an that the night would be on the restaurant.

I heard a female voice in the background laughing and wondered if she was the person that I was to meet, (she was), and thought "great laugh". I had to work the next day at my shipping job, so I brought a change of clothes with me to work. I chose a Habs sweater that I wasn't aware of the fact that it was slightly tight as I had put on some weight.

After work, I washed up a bit and headed, nervously over to the restaurant. She had gone to an Italian restaurant across the stree to get a small bite to eat. She walked in around ten minutes later wearing a navy and white polka dot dress and when I saw her I thought she was so beautiful.

We had a few drinks and then some tacos and chatted away the night. She decided around 11 o'clock that she should go home and she called a cab. We exchanged phone numbers and I asked if I could walk her to her cab and she agreed. We walked down to Ste-Catherine's Street and I hailed her a cab. Before she got in I asked her if I could give her a kiss, again, she agreed and after she got in the cab and it pulled away. I watched as the cab drove off and returned to the restaurant.

The staff kept asking what I thought of the night, and I stated that it seemed like a really nice evening, meeting a nice woman. So my friend said he'd give me a lift home if I stayed until closing so I did and played some Tetris. I finally got home about 3:30 or so and as I approached the door I heard the phone ringing and thought, "who is calling me at this hour?"

It was her making sure that I got home safely.

We talked for a couple more hours but we both worked the next day so cut it short. The next day at work, all I could think of was her, so when I got home, after supper, I called her and we spoke some more. Wr had so much to say. We made a date for Saturday and I thought that was an eternity away.

Saturday, I went by public transportation to pick her up and after the date, I dropped her home and I didn't get home until way after 2 a.m. I called her to tell her that I gad a great time and we spoke some more.

There just seemed to be magic, I guess there was.

Debra was just so easy to talk and laugh with, and she was like that throughout the years.

They don't make Debra's anymore I think.

The following video was dedicated to Debra: