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LADY OF THE LEGS
PAGE 3 OF 7
| "I went through a little bit of training and whatnot. I had a coach before and at that time. I was totally not polished." |
A: Oh, god, this is so embarrassing. His name is John Hiu. We were friends, really good friends. He was going out with another girl. We talked and I helped him with his problems and whatnot.
Q: So he cried on your shoulders?
A: Not really. I was always just there to talk to him about things. One day
we decided we didn't want to be friends and we started going out.
Q: What did you see in him?
A: He was handsome, athletic.
Q: A football player?
A: Yeah. I just liked him because we got along. I have a sense of humor and
I just click with certain people and it was just kind of our dry humor.
Q: You would make snide cracks to each other that only you two could
understand?
A: Yes, make fun of other people, not in a bad way, but you know...
Q: How long were you going with John?
A: Like a couple of months or so when I was a junior.
Q: Was he your very first kiss?
A: Yeah.
Q: What did you want to be?
A: I wanted to go into advertising because it was creative and I like to be
creative.
Q: And because it seemed glamorous?
A: Yeah, in a way, yeah.
Q: Were you always hankering after glamour and glitz?
A: No, not at all. I grew up like any other kid. I was happy where I was in
Hawaii and I would never change where I grew up.
Q: Where did you live while attending Roosevelt High?
A: Makiki Roundtop.
Q: That's a nice area. Your mother must have been doing really well.
A: My grandparents had a house up there so we lived with them, my mom,
my brother and I.
Q: Did your mom ever remarry?
A: Yes, about five years ago.
Q: Until then you didn't have a father figure?
A: No. Well, my grandfather.
Q: Were you close to your grandfather?
A: Yeah.
Q: What did he do?
A: He worked as the chief clerk at the circuit court. You know the building
behind the big Kamehameha statue? He worked in there. I was brought up
in a very Christian home.
Q: Were you close to your brother Andrew?
A: Yes, very close.
Q: What did you do after graduating from high school?
A: I went to KCC my first year out of high school [in 1986]. Then I took the
year off because of the [Miss Asia World pageant in 1988]. Before that I was
in the Miss American Train pageant in 1987. It was this goodwill
ambassador kind of thing that went to Japan. They were going to display
all these different products. So they had a big pageant in Hawaii. There were
two girls from each state. This other girl from Maui and myself represented
Hawaii.
Q: What gave you the idea that you could be a beauty queen?
A: I was tall, one of the tallest girls in my class.
Q: When did you hit the 5-9 mark?
A: Ninth, tenth grade.
Q: Were you 120 pounds back then?
A: No, I was 110, 105. I was like a beanpole.
Q: You entered just because you were tall enough?
A: I think a friend of my mother's knew the people who were putting the
pageant on. It wasn't like me going in there and saying, Hey, I want to do
this.
Q: When she said, Debra, why don't you do this?, what did you say?
A: Sure. I mean, 'cause you're at that age you're willing to try anything.
Q: You were confident enough that you didn't have any problems standing up
there in a swimsuit?
A: Well, I went through a little bit of training and whatnot. I had
a coach before and at that time. I was totally not polished. I had to do this with my
hands, and that, you know.
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