Debbie

 Deb was my best friend at Shepp High. She was a twin sister to Judy, non-identical, Deb was blonde and Judy had mousey brown hair. They were both a year younger than most of us because in Deb's words her mum had her hands full and wanted to pack them off to school as soon as possible.

Debbie was very gentle and naturally beautiful. I remember Mum commenting about how happy she was I was hanging out with Debbie because I stopped wearing makeup.

Debbie and I loved Art except Debbie was fantastic at it. In Year 12, there weren't enough students in our cohort doing art so they sent us to Wanganui High instead. The teacher wasn't very engaging so Deb and I used to catch the bus across and then sometimes nick off to the fish and chip shop and get some chips and head into the International Village for the entire double period.

Deb chose painting as her preferred medium for Year 12 Art and did a whole series of canvases of washing being thrown in the air. She won some acclaim for it too. Her Art was selected to be displayed in Melbourne at the exhibition of the best of the best portfolios of VCE Art.

Deb was responsible for Mark and I meeting.

When I drove up to Queensland to live, I stayed with a friend from Uni for a week until I found somewhere to rent and then I came across to Deb's suburb and she was living in a huge 3 storey house with her high school boyfriend Jason and two guys from the Karate dojo, one of whom was Mark, who was also studying geology with Jason at QUT.

Within a week Mark had asked me out. It was a pretty successful match. We were boyfriend and girlfriend for five years, engaged, went overseas, came home got married and stayed married for twenty years.

Deb left Jason. Thank God. She ended up marrying another geologist and having three kids to him.

When Mark and I came home from overseas and settled back in Victoria we caught up with Deb and her kids at serviced apartment. Deb threatened to come and visit us out in the sticks but she never did.

Deb is still amazing at art and has become a highly accomplished illustrator and has illustrated several children's books as well as many other products.