All language subtitles for Mermaids.2017.WEBRip.x264-ION10

Narrator:
In our dreams,

they are dangerous,

free and beautiful.

They enchant
and tempt us,

embodying the eternal allure
of a world that exists

just beyond ours.

Narrator:
The ancient Greeks,

Inuit elders,
and Voodoo priests

have passed on legends
of women of the water.

They have the power to control
the winds and the tides.

They can lure men
to their demise

or, bring rebirth
and transformation.

Ashley:
We are at Dive Bar

in our wonderful Sacramento,
California area,

the one and only
mermaid bar.

It is the most
whimsical job.

This is mermaid Stephanie.

And this is mermaid Ashley.

These are our
glorious tails.

We would be nothing
without these guys.

Davy Jones,

Brown Chicken
Brown Cow,

would be our
blue one.

Ashley:
I think that one's
getting renamed soon.

Stephanie:
Frankie, this
is my tail.

And if we can't
remember their names,

we just call them Slug.

Yeah.

Rachel:
The first couple months
I was working here,

jumping in the tank and
hearing this grown man

start screaming,
"She's real!

She's real!"

as I swam by.

It's just such
a unique and

fascinating experience.

It takes you completely
out of yourself,

and you're seeing something
that you know isn't real,

but you think maybe it
might also be real.

Okay, that's as
much as you get.

Before I put
the tail on.

This job happened
at a really, really

hard time in my life.

Um, and it-

you know it, I can't
be as dramatic to say

that it saved
my life but it,

it helped me wake
up, I think.

And I've heard that from
several other mermaids.

Mermaid in the tank.

Rachel:
There's a thing
that I love

when you're
underwater where

just let out a
little bit of air

and be completely neutrally
buoyant and weightless.

Rachel:
It fulfills

a dream and a fantasy

and something that
you're needing.

Ralph:
Harlem in the city.

There's a pool here,
close by.

I said to her,

"I wouldn't go there
if they paid me."

Yes, we thought it was-

We went there,
the place is free.

And clean and beautiful.

And we spot a
tail in the water.

Yes, I'm like, he tells me,
"There's a mermaid."

There's a mermaid in the water.
- I said, "Yes, me."

He goes, "No,

there's an actual
mermaid with a fin."

Flip. Flipped out.
- She's, like, here.

I'm over here.

I saw her wave
the fin hello.

I was like Harlem.
- We found a mermaid in Harlem.

In Harlem there's a
mermaid in this pool.

I'm rushing to get
to this little girl.

She's actually at the
time 11 years old.

I thought she was
16, beautiful.

Great swimmer,
she is a natural.

And I'm like, rushing and
she looks at me like,

there's this crazy woman
reaching out to me,

and frantically,

because I mean,
I'm like,

a mermaid right
here in Harlem.

I thought I was
the only one.

Cookie:
This is where all
my tails are at.

This of course
is my meat tail,

Gaga tail,

which is pretty
cool because

all the younger mermaids
identify with it,

so I'm bringing younger
people towards me

and I like that.

This one is my
second tail

made for me by
my mer creator.

The red tail.

In the bathroom I have a little
tiny shrine of a mermaid,

my dolphins,

my seashells,

the conch shell,

we take it with
us to the beach

so I can call Poseidon

and let him
know I'm home.

♪ I wish I were a
Weeki Wachee mermaid

♪ That is what I'd
truly like to be

♪ For if I were a
Weeki Wachee mermaid

♪ Everyone would
be in love with me ♪

Woman:
Vicki has one.

Oh!
- Yes she does.

That's cute.
- That's a nice one.

Vicki:
It's Ariel.

Woman:
Vicki, was that your 70th
birthday you did that?

Yes it was.

How sweet of you
to remember.

Vicki:
We call ourselves
the Mersisters.

There's no one
else in the world

that have shared
what we share

because there's no
other place in the world

like Weeki Wachee.

Vicki:
I love that picture.

That's my
favourite picture.

This is one I'm noted
for is this postcard,

because it is a
perfect form.

The lines are
all parallel.

Vicki:
A lot of the mermaids
that leave Weeki Wachee,

they always did dream

of going back and
swimming again.

Vicki:
When being a mermaid
is the first job

you've ever had in
your entire life,

which it was for me and it
was for a lot of the girls,

nothing else
compares to it.

Narrator:
In the Danish
fairy tale,

the Little Mermaid lived
in the depths of the ocean

where the water was
a deep sapphire blue.

She would look skyward at the
rays of sunlight from above

and dream of life
outside the sea.

When she was
old enough,

the Little Mermaid
swam to the surface.

There she saw a new
and exciting world

full of humans who appeared
so beautiful to her,

moving about on legs that
allowed them to run and dance.

She imagined how happy
those people must be,

and the Little Mermaid
longed to join them.

Woohoo!

Mermaid 1:
We are in Huntington
Beach, California

at the local
mermaid meetup.

We have a group of professional
and recreational mermaids

that get together
just for fun

to spend some time
together and be ourselves.

Mermaid 2:
Because we'll have
been friends forever,

like, I like mermaids,
you like mermaids,

let's talk on the
internet for years,

and then like,
we finally get to chill.

Yeah, my first time!

Oh my god, I've seen
this online forever,

you've done so well!

Everything about the
water is so magical and

I just, I adore it

and mermaids is
just a great part

'cause you're half-fish,
half-human,

and I feel like you're
the best part of both.

Mermaid 1:
It's not every day you
get to be a mermaid.

I mean, who gets to
grow up and say,

"I'm a mermaid."

Like that is just-

It's unworldly and it's
spectacularly special

and I think that's-

I think that's
why mermaids.

We have homemade tails,

we have tail makers,

we have professional
tail makers.

They come from all
different walks of life.

Some of the girls
make their own tails.

She makes her
tails as well.

So, all tails are
welcome here.

Julz:
I'm used to always
kinda being

the last one picked.

I just felt I
didn't belong.

I always felt like I
was outside looking in.

Woman:
We're gonna make
mermaid punch.

Wow.
-Yes yes yes yes yes.

Julz:
I came to this group.

I haven't had that.

The more rum the
better, right?

Woman:
Absolutely.

Julz:
You have to try
a small sip.

I actually met someone
when I was out here,

and she's very amazing.

She is the first
person I've dated

since my
transition.

Julz:
I lived up in

Virginia Beach area

for a good bit
of my life.

It's right in the middle
of the Bible Belt,

so welcome to a lot
of religious hate.

Most people didn't
like the gays.

And, I was like,

if they don't like them,

they're really
not gonna like me.

Out East they
won't cover

transitional surgeries.

And when I found
out California did,

I was quite surprised.

Two weeks later,

I loaded up everything
that I could fit

and started driving
cross country.

I'd been fighting
for this for years,

years and years,

hunting for doctors,

trying to save.

I don't have any boobs.

I had to use freaking
foam inserts.

I just wanna be
one of the girls.

Makeup Artist:
Are you only using
black eyeliner?

Julz:
I have a brown one
around here somewhere.

Makeup Artist:
I think that browns
are more your colour,

to be honest with you.

You know, doing hair
is probably not

the most important
job in the world,

but it does help make
people feel beautiful.

It really helps
with self-esteem.
It really helps.

I think especially
for transgender people,

if you can't
afford to get
your hair done,

sometimes your
appearance is
everything,

it's your identity.

I mean, I'm still
kinda there.

I just wanna blend in,

just not have to worry about
people asking questions

or anything else.

That happens to you?

Like you go places and
people ask questions?

Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.

Makeup Artist:
This year my
child came to me

and told me that

he was born in
the wrong body,

that he was born a girl,

but really on the
inside he's a boy.

Look up for me.

It's been sort of

a challenge to um,

have people accept
the changes

that are happening,

and it's just
made me aware

of how difficult
transgender people have it.

Transgender children
love mermaids

and I didn't
understand the whole

concept of all of it,

but when we transitioned,

my son was almost
hyper masculine,

where like he wanted
to get rid of anything

that looked like
girls, anything,

like, "What kind of
cereal do boys eat?"

And I'm like,
I don't know,

and then we
were like, hey!

We're like throwing
stuff away

and then we had
some mermaid stuff

'cause my um,

my dad had given me, like,
a mermaid collection,

and he wanted to keep
all the mermaid stuff,

still is obsessed
with mermaids.

I don't think LJ
even understands

that there is
like a community

and a whole culture
of mermaids.

Julz:
Oh yeah,

we have a whole
bunch of mermaids.

Here, I'll show you a
picture of all of us

when we got together,

'cause I uh, saved
it on Facebook.

Makeup Artist:
Oh my gosh,
is that crazy?

Julz: There we go.
Makeup Artist: Look at that.

Child:
That isn't real,
is it?

Oh yeah,
mermaids are real.

See, there's a whole
bunch of us right there.

Makeup Artist:
Isn't it cool?

You're not a real mermaid.

Archival Footage Narrator:
Florida,

the dream state for
millions of Americans,

famous for its beaches,

famous too as headquarters

for America's great
travelling circuses

who spend their
winters in Florida.

But there's one circus
that stays year round

on Florida's west coast,

the world's only underwater
circus at Weeki Wachee Springs,

Florida's underwater
grand canyon.

Millions of people enjoy
the fascinating beauty

of this submerged
theatre wonderland.

Lovely mermaids welcome
thousands of people each day

in the Weeki Wachee theatre.

Archival Footage Narrator:
Drinking underwater too?

Of course.

But you have to
be real thirsty.

Vicki:
I grew up in a little town
called Brooksville, Florida,

which is about 13
miles from here.

And in Brooksville when you
graduated from high school,

you either went
off to college,

got married,

which many
of them did,

or you became a
Weeki Wachee mermaid.

Archival Footage Narrator:
How was it?

Vicki:
I started as a mermaid

on June the 7th, 1957,

and I was 17.

Woman:
Weeki Wachee mermaids
were considered

close to being
a movie star.

They were considered glamorous.

Vicki:
Elvis Presley came and

we put on a
special show for him,

and I got to swim for him,

and he was,
he was so cute.

But shoot, back in
1960 I was cute too!

Vicki:
One of my
favourite things

in all the world to do

was the deep dive.

Archival Footage Narrator:
Now, a daring mermaid

attempts a deep dive

to the bottom
of the canyon.

She breathes down
into the depths,

117 feet below
the surface,

equal to the height of
a ten storey building.

Vicki:
So we take our
last breath,

let the air
hose go up,

and then we
sit there.

It feels like,
oh, forever

and actually it's about

a minute and a half,
two minutes,

sometimes three minutes.

And the announcer in the
underwater stage is saying,

"Oh no, what?

Oh my gosh.

She's left down
there without air",

and we are, we're down
there without air.

Vicki:
And then all
of a sudden

you start floating up

and it's just
so beautiful

to see this girl out there
in this beautiful big bowl

of natural spring water,

and it's just her,

and it's the most marvellous
feeling in the world.

It's like you're flying.

Vicki:
The movement of the water
is like wind on your face,

and you know you
can't breathe,

but you almost
feel like you can.

Rachel:
Being a mermaid has
become part of me

in a way that

I can't separate at
this point in time.

There's almost a loyalty
to some things you do.

Rachel:
Hello.

Laurie:
Hi.

Rachel:
I was a professional
mermaid

for about two years

before I got my
mom into it.

Laurie:
I was having my
60th birthday,

which was kind
of a watershed,

and I did kind of start
to feel like, well,

gosh, a lot of things
seem to be ending

and changing right now.

You know,
is this it?

I'm always like,
is this it?

Is this is, you know,
the last-

Is this how life's
gonna be now

'cause I'm feeling kind
of overwhelmed and tired.

I was, you know,

having not such
a great period.

Rachel:
I just remember
you saying, like,

"Well, what if
I have a tail?"

Laurie:
I did, I was like,

"Could there be a
mature mermaid?"

And Rachel was
like, "Yes,

I can build
you a tail.

I'll paint
you a tail.

Of course you
could have a tail."

Rachel:
What really
changed everything

was this mermaid-centric
photography workshop we took.

Laurie:
I was putting on this different
kind of a skin so to speak,

and that gave
me permission

to kind of break
out of the things

that I thought I
could or couldn't do

or how I thought
my personality was.

Okay, we have everything?

Rachel:
Yep.

Rachel:
That trip was really
an inspiration,

and we started our mermaid
and mom business together

doing children's parties.

She's like my merassistant.

Hi.
- Hi.

My name is
mermaid Rachel.

What's your name?

Hi.
- Hi.

Hello.

Woman: It's a mermaid.
- Hello.

You don't have feet?

Rachel:
No, I just
have my fins.

Girl:
My daddy thinks

that mermaids are
not even real.

Well has your
dad ever seen one?

Then how does he know?

Girl:
Nobody knows.

Rachel:
No, there's lots of
things we don't know.

Laurie:
Pick up your shells,
here we go.

And mermaid shells.

Big ocean.

Rising in the sunshine.

Covering the shore.

Rachel:
Can everybody
say seaweed?

Seaweed.

Rachel:
And fin five.

Awesome.

Now we're gonna
blow a bubble kiss.

Ready?

Awesome, good job.
- Pink.

It is pink.
- Pink!

Mermaids don't
have hands, right?

No, I have hands,
just no feet.

Boy:
And these are seashells.

Uh huh.

I collected those too.

Boy:
These are plastic.

Plastic, what's that?

Aunt mermaid's dying out.

Woman:
Come on, bud,
let's go.

Say bye bye.
- Bye bye.

Bye bye.

Ouch.

Laurie:
My legs went
to sleep.

Rachel: Yeah, mine did too.
-Sorry.

Cookie:
First of all,

my son introduced
me to Facebook.

I love Facebook.

What's the guy's name,
Mark Zuckerman?

He's my hero for
inventing Facebook.

I typed in "mermaids,"

and my lord,

so many showed up.

I didn't know that they
existed the way they did.

Cookie:
I got to go to the
Merfest in 2014.

That's where you
find how to,

what to, where to,

everything and
anything in the world

related to mermaids.

That is the place to go.

Cookie:
When we decided to go
to the next Merfest,

I said,

"Wouldn't it be cool to get
married as a mermaid?"

'cause I like to
be different.

I never like to be
really traditional,

so boy was I
different this time.

Ralph:
Well we've been
together for 30 years.

I waited 30 years
to hear these words

that he says
just go ahead.

A piece of paper is not
gonna change anything.

I mean, it didn't matter
to me 'cause I knew-

We applied for the

for the senior citizens
homes in Florida

and they said you
have to be married.

So he said,
"Go ahead."

She's saying to me,

we're going to
the MerFest,

and I said, "Well."

"Let's do it."
-"Let's do it."

And I'm like,
"Do what?"

"Let's get married."

From what we've
been told-

Ralph:
Well the newspaper
article said-

Cookie:
It's in the article
as well.

Ralph:
We were the first
mermaid wedding.

Cookie:
First mermaid wedding.

Oh, no,
I can make it.

Wanna zip me up?

Woman:
Not until we get
you in the pool.

Ralph:
By the way, the
tail came out perfect.

Perfect. Beautiful.

You know, usually
a wedding dress

you have to measure it,

take a little more,

measure it again.

Perfect.
- Perfect.

She said,
"I wanna see

how you guys are
gonna pull this off."

Cookie:
When I started swimming

he played my music,

I was actually,
I wasn't there.

I was in the ocean,

and I saw a pirate
ship with Prince Eric

and he was just
waiting for me.

That's all I saw.

And they,
and the girl did

a hell of a job
on her makeup.

When I saw her-
- Oh yes.

I said, "Wow!"

Officiant:
Merman Ralph,

do you take
Mermaid Cookie

to be your lawfully
wedded wife?

I do.

Officiant:
And Mermaid Cookie,

in placing this ring on
Merman Ralph's finger,

repeat after me.

This ring I give you.

This ring I give you.

Officiant:
My personal gift.

My personal gift.

Officiant:
And my personal
promise of love.

Personal promise
of love.

Officiant: And trust.
- And trust.

Officiant:
For all the days
of our lives.

For all the days
of our lives.

Officiant:
I declare that
they are

husband and wife.

Cookie:
It was simple,
romantic, perfect.

Ralph:
It was perfect,
it was perfect.

The music was perfect.
- To marry the man of my dreams.

Everybody walked-

My soulmate
after 30 years,

and in a special wedding.

That environment
was special.

I wanted special,
I got special.

That's right.

Abby, Abby,
can you smile?

Smile.

Smile, smile.

Announcer:
Welcome, ladies
and gentlemen,

boys and girls,

to Weeki Wachee,

the wondrous
freshwater spring

where mermaids
still swim

and the spirit of
adventure lives on.

Woman:
Whitney's in.

Amanda's in.

Christie's in.

Announcer:
Ladies and gentlemen,

boys and girls, welcome.

We're glad you came
to Weeki Wachee.

* We're glad you came
to Weeki Wachee ♪

Announcer:
I said that already.

* We know

Announcer:
We're so glad you
made the trip.

* We're so glad
you made the trip ♪

Announcer:
Come on, I said
that already.

* Hey give us a break

We're only mermaids ♪

Announcer:
Wait a minute,

you've gotta be
pulling my leg.

You say you're what?

Mermaids:
Mermaids, silly,
you know.

* Swishy tail

* Pretty face

* Lots of charm

* Lots of grace

* We're the gals who
sunk a thousand ships

* When they see us
sailors lose their grips

* When they see the
Weeki Wachee mermaids

* Do the Weeki Wachee
mermaid flip ♪

Vicki:
The young girls today,
oh gosh,

they are so talented,

and such awesome athletes,

and I respect what
they're sharing now

because I've been there.

* Come on, come on
at Weeki Wachee ♪

Woman:
Side crawl and
back flip

to your belly.

Shake it, girls!

* Fish tail

* Swimming

* Doing the Weeki
Wachee mermaid flip ♪

Former Weeki Mermaid 1:
I met my husband
at the springs.

He was an
underwater boy,

underwater maintenance.

They would clean
the windows,

they would clean
the shelves,

take care of
the props.

Former Weeki Mermaid 2:
This is our group picture.

That's me over here,

young and beautiful.

Actually I was here until
I married my husband,

and then we moved
to New York.

We both married
underwater boys.

We married underwater
boys, yeah. Imagine that.

Except I'm still
married to mine.

Yeah.

Vicki:
The camaraderie
is definitely there

when we swim together.

We watch out for
one another.

If someone drops
an air hose,

somebody's there to pick
it up and hand it to you.

Former Weeki Mermaid 3:
It's a very deep sisterhood

that we've all
been able to share.

It's a commonality that
you just don't have

outside of being
a mermaid.

You swim with somebody,

you get out and you
shower with somebody,

and you dress
with somebody,

and you talk to each other
while you're getting dressed.

I mean every,
you know,

your basic office
job doesn't have that.

How many times have
you ever gone back

to these different companies

and felt the love

that you had in
that spring?

That's right.

* The place to be

* At Weeki Wachee if you
think you see mermaids

* Weeki Wachee

* Floating in the
waters of blue

* Don't drop your
eyes in surprise

* That you see mermaids

* Because at Weeki
Wachee you do ♪

Former Weeki Mermaid 4:
You don't realize
how special it was

until you leave,

and once you leave then
that's what you miss.

You miss the spring,
the water, the girls,

mostly the girls.

* So let your heart be
a part of happy hours

* For dreams at Weeki
Wachee come true ♪

Former Weeki Mermaid 4:
You never forget it.

It's always with you.

It's always part
of who you are.

* Weeki Wachee is
the place to be ♪

Narrator:
Deep in the
Brazilian rainforest,

there was once a
princess named Yara,

whose grace was equal
only to her strength.

She became the fiercest
warrior in the kingdom,

and out of jealousy,

her brothers drowned
her in the Amazon.

Such was her power

that the river couldn't
take her soul,

and there she remains,

an immortal woman
of the water.

Her irresistible beauty
radiates throughout the river,

and the Amazonians know

that when a man
doesn't return home,

he is in the
arms of Yara.

Cookie:
This is R and C,

which is Ralph right here,

and that's me, Cookie.

See how beautiful
both fish is like?

Golden fish.

And I call them
Ralph and Cookie

because wherever
he goes, she goes,

and vice versa.

They're always
together like we are.

When I saw her I said,

"I want a tail
just like you."

And he says,
"Pick your fabric."

I went,

I saw the
perfect fabric.

It looks almost
just like her.

And he came and he
made it for me.

Ralph:
My mama said,

"Son, you're gonna
learn how to cook,

sew, and clean
your clothes

so that you don't have
to depend on nobody."

So I can actually
sew a zipper,

which very few people
can sew a zipper.

Even women that I know
can't sew a zipper.

To me, it don't
make you feminine

that you sit
down and sew.

My friend came in the
other day and saw me sewing,

and he looked
at me like...

I said, "Yeah,

what if you had a pair of
socks that was broken?

What can you do?

Do you throw
them away?

I know how to sew, yeah."

When I finish it,

I'm pretty proud.

They came out
pretty good.

I know it's a
pain in the neck,

but when I finish it and
I see a photo like that,

I'm very-I'm very,
you know,

I'm very proud of
these two things.

I've made two bras,

and bras are hard to make,
believe me.

Those bras are
very hard to make.

Ralph:
You know,
she enjoys it

And she goes
around bragging,

"My husband made this."

It's not just the tail.

It's, "My husband made it."

Ralph:
After I sew it

and I take it
to a tailor

and he gives it a
good stitching for me.

If not, I would be
sewing for three days

trying to get the right
stitching on there.

Okay, I thank
you very much.

Okay.

Nice.
-Okay, gracias.

Ralph:
My mermaid will
be happy.

I usually sit
on the floor.

So if you don't mind

I'm gonna get comfy.

I'm putting my model
fin inside my tail,

the hard way.

In my mind this
is a real fish

that I'm gonna
transform into.

Okay.

I think I got it.

It would break my
heart if I was to

mess up his masterpiece.

Ralph: More.
- More?

Ralph: This.
- Okay.

Cookie:
Oh my goodness,
I love it.

And voila!

A mermaid tail,

by Mer creator Ralph.

Oh, this came out good.

Good?
It came out beautiful!

This came out nice,
real good.

Don't you think?

Julz:
I love making tails.

It's fun.

I get to pour myself
into making a tail

for somebody else that
they're gonna love.

Come on, bucket,
open for me.

I enjoy art,

and this is an
expression of art for me.

It's a passion
that I tapped

and realized how much I
could actually do with this.

I just wanna give it
a light blue tint.

I don't wanna give
it a lot of blue,

just a faint tip,

'cause this stuff
will go a long way.

Normally it takes me
to make a single tail

about two and a half
to three months.

I have made a total
of six tails so far.

This is my original tail.

This is the monster.

And this is all monofin.

This is a custom
made monofin.

I've had one of the best
tail makers that I know

teach me a lot of things,

and that is Tom Schauss.

Julz:
A lot of us refer to
him as the Merpapa.

You know,
I call him my Merpop.

Tom helped make the
tail for Splash.

To have the iconic
Splash tail

is a lot of
mermaid's dream.

Daryl Hannah
swimming in that tail

really brought a lot of
attention to the world.

Julz: Hey Tom.

Hey Julz.

Julz:
How are you?

Great.

Good to see you.

Julz:
Good to see
you too.

I miss you.

You too.

Julz: Oooh!
- There's a tail for a baby,

and this is a tail
for a zombie.

Julz:
Oh the zombie tail.

Tom:
Yep.

So I'm gonna make prosthetic
pieces that are just like this

with the bones

so anybody can turn their
tail into a zombie tail.

Julz:
Nice.

This one down
here is charmed.

Julz:
Oh cool.

This brightly sparkled one

Michael Phelps even wore.

This is a mold
from Splash 2.

It's constructed exactly
like the one from Splash 1.

Some people you
teach things

and they improve by
leaps and bounds.

Julz is one of them.

So every time-

You know, and
that's-that's when,

I don't like
wasting my time

on people that are
wasting my time.

I've made custom tails
for people that are-

that look like a bass.

They want them to look
like a trout, fine,

I'll make it look
like a trout.

There's so many
fish in the ocean.

Pick one.

That's all I've ever
tried to do in tail making

is doing my best

under the circumstances.

Whether you're doing it
on your kitchen table

or out in your backyard

or on a park bench,

which I have done,

I've worked on tails
on park benches.

People have always
said that um,

my tails are the best.

They come to me

and it's like they have
a quality or something

and it's, I think it's
like grandma's cookies.

They have love in them.

I came up with a
couple of terms

for experiences
that-that people get

when they're exposed

and they truly have
it in their heart,

they get Merpes.

Merpes means it's something
you can never get rid of,

and it might diminish a
little from time to time,

but it's always
gonna be there

and it's gonna come back
every once in a while.

The other one
is a mergasm.

It's when a woman
first puts on that tail

and she looks at
herself as a mermaid

and sees pictures
of her as a mermaid,

she has a mergasm.

And I've witnessed
it with so many women

that I've put in my tails.

They've actually
shuddered and cried

and said,
"My god, I'm real."

Those people
are merpeople.

Laurie:
Rachel loves to
be a performer.

I do think that that
partially came from me

because that's
what I did.

I've been teaching
hula dance

for years and
years and years.

Rachel started hula
when she was four,

and I was her
first hula teacher.

Laurie:
We probably have gone to
Hawaii at least twice a year

the entire time that
we've been dancing hula,

and it was just a nice
family bonding time.

Rachel:
That's Zack,
that's my brother.

Laurie:
Yes,

but there's pictures
in here of you both

in your tiger outfits.
- We'd be tigers,

but then we'd put another
costume over the tiger costume,

so we'd be a tiger cowboy
or a tiger ballerina.

It made sense to us.

Look how cute Zack was.

Laurie:
I know.

He was very cute.

A really cute
little boy.

Rachel was Zack's
best friend,

and they had things
they talked about

and things they
watched together

and things they imagined
that only they did.

That was, you know,
really special,

but she was a
good big sister.

He had a brain tumour.

They gave him a year
and a half of chemo,

but he died about a
month after he graduated

from high school

'cause the tumour just
was growing aggressively

and they couldn't
do anything for it.

Laurie:
The best way I
can describe it

is you just don't
believe it.

It seems unfair that
there's all these things

he didn't get to do

and we don't get to talk
to him or laugh with him

or do all these things.

Narrator:
When Alexander
the Great died,

his sister Thessalonike

was so overcome
with grief

that she flung
herself into the sea,

but because she had
once washed her hair

in the water of
eternal life,

she was doomed
to live forever.

She grew gills and scales
and became a mermaid.

Ever since then
she demands

that any sailor
who passes her by

tell her that her
brother lives and reigns

and conquers the world,

or they must face
her anguished rage.

Julz:
I knew when I was
three years old

something was
different about me.

I knew I wasn't like a
lot of the other boys.

When I was
eight years old

is when I really
knew that

I was supposed to
have been born a girl,

that I was in
the wrong body.

Julz:
It was very hard
growing up.

It was trying to
hide who you were,

stay safe,

keep your sanity.

You know, kids in
school found out,

and I'm getting
beat up, teased,

name called,
ridiculed, everything.

I remember many a times
growing up as a teenager

going to bed crying,
praying to God,

"Please wake me up and
have me be a girl,"

thinking it was actually
possible back then.

For many years
I'd shower,

I wouldn't even
look down.

I washed my lower half
of my body by feel.

You know, I started buying
clothing here or there

or getting it at
thrift stores

or however, wherever.

What I did behind
closed doors,

my business,

until your dad decides
to open that door.

I remember him
forcing his way in.

I remember him
saying basically,

"I am not gonna
have the freak son

that everyone
talks about."

I was really in fear
of my life that night.

I really thought my
dad was gonna lose it

and I wasn't gonna
live past it.

Yeah.

Julz:
He was the only
parent I knew.

My real mother
was already gone.

She had moved back to
Denmark when I was six.

Losing his approval,

oh, that killed me.

And it caused
me to kick off

into doing every guyish
thing I could possibly do,

working on cars,
doing rodeo,

joining the military,
you know.

I was miserable
most of the time.

I'd go out,
put on that,

in the Marine Corps,

that emotionless
thousand yard stare.

I didn't know
anyone else like me.

I felt very alone,

very scared.

It takes its toll.

You get to the point where
you get suicidal thoughts

running through your head.

You know,
it's not

something I'm very
proud of that happened,

but, you know, it

it ran through my head

and it got to the
point where, you know,

there were attempts.

Got out of
the military,

came back,

met a girl,

got a job,

your typical
story of,

Oh, boy meets girl,

boy gets job,

boy saves up money,

proposes to girl,
you know.

Yeah,

that happened a
couple times.

My kids, well,

see, I miss them all.

I mean, I have
three of them.

My oldest is
fine with it.

She's fine with my
transition 100%.

You know,

she'll-we'll
sit and talk.

We've gone
out shopping.

We've done
things together.

You know,
she doesn't care.

My middle child
won't speak to me.

He will not speak
to me about it.

It's a really tough thing
for him to cope with.

And I'm working at it slowly,

trying to become
part of his life,

see what happens,
you know.

My youngest, Tyler,

from the minute
that, you know,

from I started
my transition,

he didn't care.

I was just one of his
parents that loved him

and was there for
him unconditionally.

I was with him pretty
much every day of his life

until he moved.

He was just a month
away from turning seven.

Me and his
mother split up.

She went back
to Florida.

Losing him hurt.

It really hurt,

and it still hurts.

And lately,

he just doesn't wanna
talk on the phone to me,

so that-

that hurts even more.

I'm afraid that I'm
gonna lose him
somehow completely,

and I don't want
that to happen.

Nicole:
Let me know.

Julz:
Hmm?

You just want me to dump
them in the bowl there?

Nicole:
Yes, please.

Julz:
Okay.

I didn't date anybody until
I moved out to California

and met Nicole.

I haven't been happier
in such a long time.

And the fact that
she accepts me for me

makes it even so
much sweeter.

You know,
as I tell her,

she's my pirate and
I'm her mermaid.

So it wasn't I caught
her or she caught me.

I didn't lure
her to her doom

and she didn't
catch me in a net.

We found each other and
that's what makes it work.

Nicole:
It's been an adventure.

It's been a
little rough.

Family and friends
are just worried that

I'm going down some
rabbit hole or something,

you know, that,

there's, you know, something
inherently wrong with-

Julz:
I'm bringing you
to the dark side.

With, you know,

what she's
doing that it's

it's going to
affect me,

and some
people think
that it might

affect my
children.

Julz:
From Merri.

She got me this
one too, so.

I love it.

I didn't get
it for you.

I drew it for you.
- I know.

But why did you say that?

You knew-you knew
what I meant?

No I didn't 'cause you
didn't say it right.

Okay, she drew
this for me,

and she brought it
to me one night

and I was just like,

"Oh my god,
this is amazing."

You want one
of my tails?

I wanna scare
people by the pier.

Scare them?

No, uh, not-not like,
just kinda like, be like-

They're gonna
be like, "Oh."

Nicole:
Surprise them
you mean?

Julz:
You mean
surprise them?

Yeah, I'm just gonna
be swimming under,

I'm just gonna
peek my head through

and they're gonna be
like, "What the heck?"

Thank you.
- Thank you.

Cookie:
Well it all started

when I was about
11 years old

and I first
watched the movie

"Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid".

Cookie:
When I first saw Ann Blyth
swim in the mermaid tail,

I knew I had to
be a mermaid.

She was free and happy.

And at that time

I was in a situation that I
needed to be free and happy.

When I was younger

I was abused,

but uh,
incest, rape.

They say, say
something, right,

so I said something,

and when the
adult in my life

that I felt was
my protector

didn't believe me,

that's what changed my
attitude towards everyone else,

like, well,
you're a grownup,

you're not gonna
believe me.

You might do the same.

So I didn't wanna
say nothing

because I didn't
wanna give you ideas

to do the same thing
they were doing.

I needed to feel
that I could escape

what was happening to me

and I wanted to
be a mermaid

so that they
couldn't grab me.

Every time you'd try to
grab me I would slime out,

'cause she could slap
you with that tail

if she wanted to also.

So I-I kept
envisioning myself

that I was smacking
the people away.

That's how it started,
you know?

You're not taking
your sweatpants?

Ralph:
No, I'll be okay.

Cookie:
Put this on.

We'll take the elevator

or you go down
the stairs?

Cookie:
I have different
personalities.

One moment I'm happy,

the next moment
I'm crying,

but in between that and
more often than that,

I'm very evil,

I get very mean
and nasty.

One minute she's there

and the next minute
she can be like, "Psh,"

and I'm still pissed off

and she's saying,

"What's wrong with you?

Like, get over it."

And I'm looking at-

now I'm beginning
to understand,

it's not her,

it's, it's uh Norma.

That's Norma's way of
protecting herself.

The one that actually
was born Norma,

which is actually
my birth name,

that's the one I do not want
anywhere near me no more.

And she's the sad one,
she's the quitter.

Cookie was the first
one that I chose,

because she's the
fun one, the diva,

the dancer, because I've
always wanted to dance,

the happy one.

Butch.

I-I was tough.

You weren't getting
close to my heart.

I wasn't letting nothing.

I would be nice,

but I kept you at
a big distance.

I gave up on life,

and these personalities
took over.

Before she used to
wake up in the morning

and I used to say,
"Good morning,"

and she would get up like,

"Shit, another
fucking day, aw man."

I'd say to her,

"Mama, you're supposed
to wake up and say,

"Thank you God
for another day,"

and she would get like,

she would get up like
angry at the world

that I have to get up
again and function.

She would actually
start sweating.

and sit there and
get dressed,

oh my hairs
are standing,

and then she would get to
the door and go through it

and, "Papi, I can't do it,"

and sit back the hell down.

And I was, "Oh,

come on, you
can do this."

I lived here 15 years.

The first 10 you
could say I was here,

the first 10,
I wouldn't leave.

I could order food in.

My medicine, I could
order my medicine.

The doctor was actually
making house calls.

I hired the psychiatrist
to come here.

The doctors would
make house calls

'cause I would
not leave.

The sunlight would
cause anxiety attacks

because the large
crowds would come out,

you could hear
the kids.

At night she
would take a pill

and-and walk
around the house

and the next morning

she didn't remember
what the hell she did.

I don't-I don't
think that's the way

to cure somebody.

You know, there has
to be a better way

than to get you
all zombied up

and-and not know where you
are, what you're doing.

There has to be a way.

But I know I'm-I'm fighting
these the old demons,

things that happened to
her in her childhood,

and I don't feel
responsible for it.

Here.
- Do not lose that.

Let's go.

Cookie:
He's been more
than patient.

I know I could
get to be

more than
a bit much

overwhelming.

So he could've
up and left

'cause it was just
me and my daughter,

and he stuck it
out with me,

even though he has
his own phobias

and he stuck it out.

Ralph:
Let me tell you,

there were some
hard times,

but, you know,
thank god now uh,

it's still worth it.

And after 30 years,
you know,

I'm not gonna kick
her to the curb

and-and go get me a
young chickpea out there

and start all over again.

I think that's my
mission in life.

I'm supposed to make
this woman happy,

you know, for the
rest of her life

because she had such
a bad childhood.

Maybe.

I guess.

I guess.

Ralph:
But she's doing
much better.

She's doing much,
much better.

And she still goes
off sometime.

And when she's around the
mermaids and everything,

she's totally different.

Now I'm glad,

I go to work, "Mami, I
can't go with you today,"

she takes her little thing,

goes across

across uh Park Avenue,
goes into the park,

and goes swimming
by herself.

By herself.

Before, she wouldn't go to
the doctor's without me,

she wouldn't go
nowheres, nothing.

Now she's getting
independent.

Cookie:
When I started mermaiding,

I realized I didn't
even need the medication

'cause I just needed to
fill a void in my life.

And I think that was
what was missing,

something apart from
being a wife, a mother,

I wanted something
that was just me.

Cookie:
With the swimming,

it's exhilarating,

it's a freedom.

Cookie:
I feel safe.

Cookie:
I feel invincible.

Narrator:
In Russian folktales,

there are said to be spirits
who live in the rivers.

They are the rusalka,

the souls of maidens
who died too young.

They swim and play
in the icy water,

forever youthful and free.

Once a year the
rusalka grow legs

and ascend from
the rivers.

They dance in circles
in the meadows,

rejuvenating
the brown earth

and breathing life back into
the trees and the flowers.

They are the bearers
of spring and rebirth.

Julz:
I've got my top surgery
about a month ago,

so that is a big step.

I was so looking
forward to it.

The night
before surgery,

you know when a little
kid's getting ready

to go to an amusement
park the day before

and they can't sleep and
they're up and they're,

"We're going to Disney
or wherever tomorrow,"

that's how I was.

I'm like, I got
surgery tomorrow.

Yes, this is coming,
it's actually happening.

Oh my god.

So yeah, I was really
excited the night before.

I mean, the only second
guesses I was having is,

"Do I go real big?

"Do I go kinda
medium size?"

I think personally I
would've been happier

with, you know, the full C,
pushing the D,

but I'm quite happy with
what I have still though,

because it's like,

I have breasts now,
hey, you know.

It's-it's one step closer to
where I'm trying to get to.

Julz:
One of the
biggest things

that I noticed
about mermaids,

you know, tail down

they're all the same.

It's like, I looked
down when I was a kid

and I'm like,

"This isn't me,"

where now I can
get into a tail

and I'm not thinking
anything biological.

I'm just looking and
I'm like, "This is me."

Julz:
I really was
to the verge

of giving up
on everything,

"Screw it,

I'm gonna
leave California.

Yeah, I'm not gonna
get my surgeries,

give up on everything,
including myself,

and just go back to
Virginia in defeat,"

and she's changed that so much.

I love her.

Nicole:
For her growing up

she hated herself a lot,

going ahead and

and saying how

the depths of
despair you get

and the things
you wanna do,

you know, not
wanting to be around

and your family
not liking you.

I don't get it.

I don't know how anybody
could not like her.

So...

Vicki:
I used to dream
of the air hose.

But I did miss
being underwater,

and that feeling I had

of jumping off
into the water,

the feeling I had

taking the air hose down

to the 92 foot level
and turning it off

and feeling and hearing
my surroundings.

Former Weeki Mermaid:
When Weeki Wachee

had their 50th
anniversary in 1997,

the girls suggested,

"Well what if we got some
former mermaids to swim?"

Woman:
Okay, have fun.

Former Weeki Mermaid:
And all of us
were just like,

for one more time,

just one more time,

let me just get in
there one more time,

and it turned into this,

which we never expected.

Vicki:
I got the opportunity
to join the legends.

Oh my gosh.

Praise the Lord.

Thank you, Lord.

Vicki:
You never, ever
forget the air hose.

You know, there's
an old saying,

"Once a mermaid
always a mermaid."

And it's true.

You jump in, you pick
up that air hose,

and you're,
you're off again.

You never forget it.

Vicki:
You have that feeling,

that freedom again,

like I did when I was 17.

Vicki:
You got that buoyancy
and you're just floating,

and you're not sinking,

you're not rising.

And I still find
that now when I'm 76.

I'm still, in my heart,

I'm the ultimate mermaid
in that I am still young,

because you know that
mermaids live forever anyway.

Mermaids live forever.

Ralph:
Tada!

Tada, what do you think?

Ralph:
It looks good.

In the back?

Ralph:
Beautiful.

Okay, make sure don't forget
my water bottle, please.

Ralph:
Okay.

Cookie:
My medicine, the pump.

Okay.

My glasses. Ah, that's
why I can't see well.

Where's the tail?
This is the tail?

Yes.
- Okay.

Before we leave, yeah.

Woman:
Are you a mermaid?

Yes I am.
- She's Harlem Mermaid.

That's Harlem Mermaid.

We're gonna go represent
our neighbourhood.

Yes.

Cookie:
It's raining.

Drizzling.

Okay, we're gonna
follow the crowd.

Yeah, I need a blouse.
- It's gonna get cold.

Ralph:
We should've
brought something.

Cookie:
I've got a sweater.

Cookie:
All right,

you're gonna hold
this for me.

If it get colds,
if it rains,

then I'll put it on.

Putting your tail on.

Yes.

Hi!

Ralph:
At the beginning she wasn't
even sure she wanted to do it,

because she was afraid that
since she's a little chubby

that people were
gonna call her a whale

or say she's too fat.

Now I've seen the
thing in her where,

I don't care what you think.

Cookie:
Happy Merday!

Thank you.

Having fun?

Yeah.
- I'm having a ball.

Ralph:
I can see the
change in her.

She goes like,

"I'm pretty and
I'm beautiful,"

and I know that the
tail is what's helping

making her
feel that way.

Cookie:
Now my mermaiding
is not

to shield me from danger,

because now it's
just to show me off,

"Hey look, I survive,
I'm beautiful."

Laurie:
After Zack died

it was a very
difficult time.

There was so much change.

There was so much loss.

There was so much that I had
absolutely no control over.

Laurie:
When I decided to
try being a mermaid,

it was something that

just flipped open a switch

that kind of had the
energy to take me past

some of that other
really hard stuff.

Rachel:
I know a lot
of mermaids,

but I don't know
any other mermaids

that get to swim with
their mom in a tail.

That's pretty cool.
That's pretty darn cool.

And I feel pretty lucky
that I get to do that.

I say that a lot,
but I really mean it.

It's like, wow,
how lucky am I?

I get to go swim in a
tail with my daughter.

We're so weird.

Rachel:
We're so powerless

in so many aspects
of our lives,

but when you're

under there and you
have your tail on,

you are this
strong figure

and you're embodying
an archetype.

You're this myth.