Mermaid Informative Speech

Sailors have told legends of mermaids in the seas for hundreds of years. Many recall their majestic beauty as they call out to men lost at sea. Some scientists have suggested that the sea ladies past sailors had seen, were most likely animals such as the manatees, and one could easily mistake their shape in a dark light in the middle of the ocean. However I have the great privilege of knowing a real mermaid. Yes, I can honestly claim that my grandmother, Diane Mitchell, was a mermaid in Florida. How many people can say that?
During the 1960’s, the main attraction in Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida was the dazzling mermaid show in the town. Thousands of people would flock there, including celebrities like Elvis Presley to see the beautiful mermaids.
The girls would put on their fins and waterproof makeup and then go into their underwater studio where they would perform tricks or act out a story for about thirty minutes. They didn’t get to wear scuba gear to aid in breathing either because it would take away from the grace and elegance of their show, so they had underwater air hoses that would constantly blow out air to make it appear as if the mermaids could “breathe underwater!” Talk about a tough job.
My mawmaw was 21 years old when she started working at the famous tourist tour attraction in Florida.
She was originally born in Vinton, Iowa and had many sisters and a brother. In 1951, their parents were killed in a train accident leaving the whole group of kids orphaned, and split up to live with different families. Diane was adopted into the Frye family of a doctor and housewife with a son and a daughter. Her new mother wasn’t the sweetest mother in the world and told my grandma on many occasions that she wouldn’t amount to anything. If only she were alive today so that she could look upon her adopted daughter and witness the success that has followed my mawmaw throughout her life, she might not have said any of those harsh things. My mawmaw says that at times, she did get discouraged because of it, but she remained to stay strong and keep pushing forward. That is just one of the reasons that makes me proud to be apart of her life and to have a great hero to look up
to.
I asked my grandmaw what her favorite part of being a mermaid was and she said something I will never forget.
“As much as I loved to get all dolled up and perform with such beauty for my own self, it was more thrilling to see the reactions of everyone who was watching me. I loved to connect with the audience, especially the younger children.” She not only was doing something that she loved doing, but enjoyed doing it because it also made someone else happy in return. My mawmaw did countless shows a day with different acts, costumes, makeup, and with longer and shorter times. Diane told me that it did not matter how tired you were or how many shows you had already performed that day, “whether it be the large group of people first thing in the morning or the three people who squeezed their way in at closing, a mermaid is supposed to do her show as best as she possibly can.” That is so inspiring to me that she thought of others before herself like
that.
After a while, my grandmother stopped working for Weeki Wachee Springs and got offered the same job of being a mermaid in California at Seaworld where she met my grandfather Jerry. Jerry also has a unique story where he grew up in Lenoir and moved to California to work at Seaworld training dolphins for their many shows. One of his great accomplishments was that he also aided in helping train the first Shamu, which was a Killer whale who was a major part of the bucket list of things to see at the amusement park. They met at one of my grandmother’s shows and they knew that it was love. How romantic, a mermaid and a dolphin trainer.
It is now 2015 and Diane has three children, my father K.C. , Lenore, and Karen. Out of her three children, she has eleven grandchildren aging from twenty-nine to ten. Talk about a big family reunion! My grandfather passed away in 2012 but even to this day, his mermaid still thinks about him and can not wait to see her dolphin trainer again. My mawmaw has taught me so much, especially to be kind and think of others before yourself, and to not lose hope in the person you want to become. My mermaid mawmaw is my hero.