Some of you have met Ce Ce and read about her in my book “SoloMan” on page 188 which takes place in St. Thomas in January 2009:
“On my way to the Green House restaurant, on the waterfront, my attention is drawn to an attractive lady in a turquoise blouse, walking along the beachfront. I think: “The Girl from Ipanema”, before I wrestle my camera from the back pack, she has disappeared. But when I am sitting behind my laptop, I see her come in. She is sitting kiddy corner across from me. “But instead, when she walks to the sea, she looks straight ahead, not at me”.
When I get back to the boat, my neighbor on the catamaran “Iato” invites me for a Sundowner.
When I climb aboard with my standard fare to go with a drink, my hot deep fried shrimp crackers, I am introduced to…..the Girl from Ipanema. Her name is Ce Ce and it is her 59th birthday today. She has come from Atlanta to visit her friends here on “Iato”, Rick and Linda. She flies back to Atlanta tomorrow.”
And on page 312 in France in 2012:
“This is Ce Ce’s first visit to Paris, we visit all the tourist spots, Montmartre, Saint Germain des Prés, Champs Élysées, the Metro, etc. The Eifel Tower has already been stored away for the next season.
I forget to collect my camera bag from the overhead luggage rack when we transfer from the Thalys train in Brussels. I have no proof to show from here on where I spend my Sunday mornings. You’ll have to take my word for it or check with Ce Ce.
We are on our way from Namur. I enjoy the company and the help, especially in the locks. Ce Ce has no camera but she has an I-pad and a video camera.
From here forward the photos are to Ce Ce’s credit.”
I only knew Ce Ce of the one evening aboard my neighbor’s catamaran in St. Thomas. But she was the only one to respond to my posting in my blog when I was coming up the Rhone river. I invited anyone to join me for the trip, because I had a rough time handling the 250 plus locks by my self. I had planned to go through Paris but the canal to Paris had too little water for my six foot draft. I took the train from Namur in Belgium to meet Ce Ce in Paris where we did the tourist thing for the weekend. Two weeks earlier Ce Ce was watching TV on her couch when two masked men broke through her screen door. It was a hot Georgia summer evening. She managed to wrestle her self free when they had her on the ground and tried tying her up. She fled into her garden and one of the robbers shot her with his sawed off shot gun. She was bleeding but managed to hide in the trees. The trauma was most likely her reason to get away from the scene for a while when she read my invitation. You will see from this short video:
what kind of a tough and fun lady she is. I saw her last on a visit to her and her boy friend in Atlanta last year January. I know you will enjoy the program. I will watch it for sure since I will be at my daughter’s home on the West Coast.