Thursday, August 31, 2023
Only one other person, aside from John can attest to this story. I was there at the scene when Debbie and John 1st met. It was the beginning of grade 10, first morning of classes. There were not enough lockers so we had to share. John and i were best buds, we shared a locker. I am sure we never had to discuss it, just a natural thing.
One locker up, one over, was a pair of girlfriends, one of which was the amazing Debbie MacMaster. Never has it taken so long for four people to open a locker, sort out stuff, and close the locker. Of course, the guys needed help. At the end, no one wanted to leave.
They talk about love at first sight, well this had all the magic from the ferrytail. They probably had to replace the flooring around those lockers after that year.
I knew John very well, I never played on a hockey team that didn't include John. And we played a lot. When we weren't on the ice we played road hockey, a sport more serious to us than playing for the bulldogs. John had a number of unique idioms. One included a hufunt, part huff, part grunt. It normally preceeded a gutual expression of almost desperate determination. Something like, 'We score now'. I knew he was really speaking to himself, but we all listened, and all too often we did as he grunted.
So you might feel my surprise that after the locker scene that very first morning, on our way to our first homeroom, I hear this same Hufunt. I know he is not talking to me, we are walking down the crowded hall and he says, "I am going to marry that girl". And well, at the time i didn't have a lot of data to rely upon, but from where I sat, that seemed a pretty good idea.
All her time, Debbie was beautiful and most of that came from within. She had a quiet manner, a grace. When she laid her eyes on you it was like you had all her attention. She listened and was kind. She was always one of my most favorite classmates and we had many.
Her career accolades are not a surprise to anyone who sat in a class with her. She was brilliant for sure, but a clear thinker like few teenagers. In a graduating class of many brilliant people, so weighted female, she stood comfortably with the top.
It is very sad to hear we have lost her early. I am sure she is in a happy place and it's up to us to live on, make something of it. She would want that for us all.
We are all grieving hard for John, family and friends. They need our support and Antigonish is the masterclass of love and comfort. Everyone in the pool.
