Debra and Greg Luna
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Moving Truck Customers
Editor’s Note: Debra and Greg were married in Oct. 2010 in Bellport, N.Y. Today, they happily live outside Rochester, N.Y. This testimonial was submitted under Debra’s maiden name of Debra Yourman.
We fell in love in a Penske truck. He proposed in a Penske truck and I said yes in a Penske truck.
Let me back up and start at the beginning. My name is Debra Yourman. In the late summer of 2005, I received an e-mail to my MySpace account. The e-mail was innocuous, save for a healthy dose of moxy. It was from a girl named Debi who, in her e-mail, stated I would make a good wife for her brother. A quick glance over his profile and I agreed that at the least we had quite a bit in common – but marriage material? That call may be a bit premature. See, Greg (the aforementioned brother) lived in Florida with Debi and her husband, Rich. I lived in New York – Long Island to be exact. Quite a distance to consider dating someone let alone marrying them. But, never one to shy away from a new conversation, I accepted her suggestion to start chatting with her brother.
Greg and I started exchanging a few e-mails, and then instant messages and then phone calls. I learned during these conversations that his days in Florida were numbered as he was relocating back to Long Island, while Debi and Rich had planned to relocate to Syracuse in the coming months.
Greg and I continued our conversations and quickly realized that we had quite a bit in common and, upon his return to Long Island, should meet and see if our virtual connection could hack it in the real world.
At the end of September, the moving plans were in motion. The plan was that Debi and Rich would drive Greg’s car to Syracuse. Greg would drive a Penske truck full of their belongings to Long Island, unload his things, and continue up to Syracuse where he would drop off their stuff and take his car back to Long Island.
Greg arrived in the Penske truck on a Tuesday afternoon. His plan was to unload his stuff, hang out for a bit with some family, rest, and hit the road around midnight to get up to Syracuse early in the morning. Upon returning to Long Island Wednesday evening, our plan was to meet face to face for the first time at a local restaurant. Meanwhile, I was at a Hurricane Katrina Benefit concert in NYC with my mom. This was just a few weeks after the tragedy struck. The concert ended around 1 a.m. At this point, Greg should have been well on his way to Syracuse. On the train ride home from the city, I texted him to say hello. He called me back from a local number. Turns out, he hadn’t left Long Island yet. Out of pure impulse, I asked him if he wanted company on his drive to Syracuse and shockingly (and shocked!) he said YES!!
So that’s how it was that we fell in love in a Penske truck. I met up with him early Wednesday morning, climbed into the cab of the Penske truck and we hit the road. Our conversation was effortless and took us to Syracuse without any awkward silences or discomfort. We arrived in Syracuse early Wednesday afternoon, unloaded the truck, got into Greg’s car and headed back south to Long Island. That was our first date. An 18-plus hour blind date that felt like mere moments.
Fast forward to August 2008. We’d been together since the first date, saying “Penske” as a synonym for I love you (though we say that, too!).
After a night out with a girlfriend, I came home to our apartment to find Greg standing outside in front of a Penske truck. He took my hand as I stepped out of my car and walked me around the back of the truck. The back liftgate was open and inside the truck were flowers, candles and a bright sparkly diamond ring. He got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. Of course, I said yes!! Afterwards, we took a victory lap around our block in the truck. (I should also admit that I took the air freshener from the truck as a memento…after all, it DID say Going The Distance which is what we plan to do as well!!)
Our wedding is in October 2010 and we’ve joked about having our signature cocktail be a Penske Martini (bright yellow) or having an ice sculpture of a Penske truck.
And, just recently, we learned that our company is going to be relocating us up to Rochester. So our life together gives us another reason to share a journey in a Penske truck. A similar route to our first date, as we’ll pass through Syracuse on our way to Rochester. We have yet to reserve our truck for the move, but of course, we know who we’ll be calling.
Submitted by Debra Luna
