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When we see stars ...  Her name was Celiney Alexander. She was 15 years old, when she boarded the RMS. "Titanic", in Cherbourg, France. Probably the youngest newly wed bride on board... Less than two months earlier, she had married Antoni Yazbeck* . Antoni was 27. Celiney Alexander Yazbeck* survived. Antoni drowned along with 1500 other people, and his body was never recovered. On his way to America, he was buried in 4000 meters of water, off the Canadian coast... Both were Lebanese ... In 1997, a Canadian producer made entertainment history with his breathtaking movie : The Titanic ... The story was that of a young girl, Rose (17) and the love of her life, Jack (23).... Dream or reality? The song that blasted the hit parade for months "My heart will go
on", was interpreted by Celine Dion ... A Canadian superstar singer. Rose and Jack (played by actors Kate Winslett and Leonardo Di Caprio) ... Celiney and Antoni ... both girls were teenagers ... both guys were in their twenties... Coincidence? The girls survived ... the love of their lives both drowned ... Dream or reality? Which "Titanic" was it? Rose's fiction, or Celiney's reality? ... which was the dream? which was "real life"? Another striking fact: Celine Dion ... Celiney Alexander Yazbeck ... same name. Only Celiney had an extra "Y" at the end of hers ... a "Y" like the question... a "Y" ... like in "Yazbeck" ... What's important to note here, is that Celiney's name was mis-typed in the original White Star Lines passengers list. her name was first written the French way, as "Salini" The English pronunciation of "Salini" is for a name written like that : "Celiney". See? The truth is her real name was : "Salimi", with an "M", which is a Lebanese name meaning "She is Healthy and sound"... My name is Roger Yazbeck Alexander Yazbeck, and I am Canadian, of Lebanese descent ... coincidence? My passion for the sea has no bounds. I am a freediver. A sport which is the purest form of interaction with the ocean ... coincidence? I am also a song writer and a singer ... In 1978, I wrote my first song to the sea ... "Dany and the bass" It was the story of a friendship between a young boy and a sea bass ... In 1979, I wrote two more songs dedicated to the sea : the first one, "Randa", is a love story between a fisherman lost at sea, and a pearl diver's daughter The second, in French; "Reine des mers" (Queen of the Seas) ... An imaginary love story between a young teenager and a mermaid ... That was years before the hit movie "Splash", with Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah In 1985, I was in Rostock, East Germany at that time, singing that song at the "Menschen Und Meer" Festival (Men and the Sea). This happened at the city's Congress Hall. I was accompanied by 85 musicians, in a fully packed hall, during a show that was aired to millions of Europeans. I was the first Canadian and North American to ever sing in that Festival. "Menschen Und Meer" is a festival in which all the songs are dedicated to the sea. Why? Because Rostock is one of the largest naval construction sites in the world! Its people are ship builders! Coincidence? In 1986, I wrote the lyrics to yet another song dedicated to the sea. "The Spirit of the Sea" ... The music was composed by the famous Canadian Big Band leader, and Jazz musician, Vic Vogel. Teresa Doyle, of Prince Edward Island, interpreted the song in Rostock, in July 1986. My last song I wrote and composed for that international festival was interpreted there in 1987, by Sylviane Noël, (a Quebecer, just like Celine Dion). Its title? "He belongs to the Sea" ... At one point, I had thought that Sylviane was the love of my life. We were together for seven and a half years... Was it a dream? Was it real? Coincidence? Coincidences do not exist ... they were meant to be, as a solid proof of their non-existence. Then where do we draw the line between Dream and
Reality?? Or do we draw anything at all?
When "we see stars" ... is this the end of reality as we know it, or the end of the dream ? Is life itself a reality? or is life a dream? ... If Life IS the Dream ... then "when we see stars", it's the only reality to it ... Death is the reality that awakens us from the dream ... Good or Bad ... Life is just a dream ... The dream vanishes and becomes a memory ... just like yesterday ... Was yesterday reality, or was it just a dream? All that's left of yesterday is the memory ... Today will be a memory tomorrow, and so will tomorrow ... in two days from today... They say :"The Dreamer may die, but the Dream will survive" ... I say it's just the opposite. The Dreamer will always be Alive. When "we see stars", it's not just because of the shortage of oxygen flow to our brain. It's the blueprint of the map, showing us the way to go from here ... We "see stars" when we get a violent shock ... Many cultures and languages quote them. The French have a saying "Voir 36 étoiles", which literally means "To see 36 stars", describing the aftermath of a violent physical or emotional shock. The Lebanese cry out "I saw the stars of the mid-day", describing a shocking and near death experience... "Seeing stars" is the edge between Life and Dream ... Reality
and Fiction ... We, and the unreachable stars, become One ... We ARE the
stars... Or was it a "coincidence" that the owners of RMS.
"Titanic" were called ... "White Star Lines" ??? The young bride was travelling to Wilkes-Barre, PA from Lebanon with her husband Antoni Yazbeck. They boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as third class passengers. Antoni Yasbeck was lost in the sinking, Selini was rescued in collapsible C. A widow at the age of 15. She later married Elias M. Decker and moved to Norfolk, VA. She had nine children, Alfred, Melvin, Robert, Lillian (Cornett née Decker), Frank, George, Charles, Marguerite and Louise. She died 10 March 1966 and is buried at St. Mary's Cemetery, Norfolk, VA. Once you are in the Encyclopaedia Titannica, enter the name : YAZBECK in the search line, and hit enter. You'll be able to verify all the information. Ah ..and by the way, speaking of "coincidence", my wife, Anne Wagner, was also born on July 15th ... Freaky, eh? :-) |