Mermaid, Brother Share Memories Of A Lifetime

Cyndi Gay and her brother were removed from their hometown before they ever spent their first day at preschool.

Their upbringing was more difficult than normal, but they always lived under the same roof. They often leaned on each other.

The two are close in age and their bond has remained strong, even as they now live 1,000 miles apart.

They were raised locally by their aunt and uncle. Gay stayed in Florida and became a Weeki Wachee mermaid and a local business owner. Her brother, Billy James, returned to Sweetwater, Tenn., "to go back to his family roots," she said.

He is married and has two daughters and two boys.

Gay, who has two boys of her own, will visit Gatlinburg, Tenn., to perform nine shows at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. It will be the first time her Tennessee family will see her as a mermaid.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime memory that I can share with them," Gay said. "It's very emotional and exciting."

Her nieces, ages 9 and 7, tell their friends and classmates their aunt is a "famous mermaid" in Florida, she said. They will be watching through the dry side of the thick pane of glass as Gay swims with sharks and rays.

It won't be the first time Gay has shared the water with other sea dwellers - besides mermaids. She previously swam with sharks during a trip to the Bahamas, only then it was dark and it wasn't in front of an audience.

"It was very intimidating," she said. "It's still intimidating when I think about it, but it'll be different this time ... I'm more nervous about having my brother and his family there."

It will be only the second time a group of mermaids has performed away from the underwater theater at Weeki Wachee. Gay will be joined in the underwater aquarium at Ripley's by her two closest friends - Marcy Gray and Staycie McConnell. The three of them are the longest-tenured mermaids at the park.

Gay became a mermaid in 1997.

"It's a great opportunity for us and we get to perform for people who can't make it to Florida," she said. "It might also bring people to the park and this county."

Gay, Gray and McConnell will perform in Gatlinburg May 1, 2 and 3.

The last time mermaids performed outside of Weeki Wachee was last year, when Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, S.C., invited some of them to perform at the Ray Bay Tank.