Miami, Florida - December 24, 2011 (11:27pm)  Je me mourrais d’ennui dans la discothèque.  À me faire du cinéma où le fils du Tchèque m’emmenait au galop des 220 chevaux d’une super Bugatti un soir à Miami quand un homme entra beau comme un hidalgo et me dit je suis Georges le fils de Valentino.  Georges, je tangue comme un bateau ivre.  Georges, les vagues du tango m’enivrent.  Georges, je suis si faible entre tes bras.  Georges, je suis une femme n’en profites-pas.  Et j’allais m’endormir dans la discothèque.  Des rêves d’Argentine bousculaient ma tête.  J’y voyais un macho la rose entre les dents et j’allais m’en aller loin du bruit et des gens quand un homme entra comme tombé du ciel et me dit je suis Georges, le fils de Carlos Gardel.  Georges, je tangue comme un bateau ivre.  Georges, les vagues du tango m’enivrent.  Georges, je suis si faible entre tes bras.  Georges, je suis une femme n’en profites-pas.  Georges, je tangue comme un bateau ivre.  Oh, Georges, les vagues du tango m’enivrent.  Oui, Georges, je suis si faible entre tes bras.  Oh, Georges, je suis une femme n’en profites-pas.  Oh, Georges !

The above lyrics are from the song Georges, which was recorded by Sylvie Vartan back in 1977.  And yes, they spell my first name with a silent “s” at the end in France, as if there was more than one of me!  Sylvie happens to be my all-time favorite singer, and for many reasons:  Her childhood was very similar to mine and by some strange coincidence, she ended up in Paris, just like I did!  She recorded her first song when she was only 15 years old and it became a big hit on the radio in France.  As I was growing up in Paris, I used to listen to her records almost every day and I became a big fan of hers, and still am to this day!

When I hear the song Georges, I always wonder if she’s actually singing about me.  In this song, she sings in French:  “George drives a 220 horsepower super Bugatti one evening in Miami”.  And finally, for the time ever, I actually got to see a super Bugatti Veyron 16.4 in Miami!  At $1.7 million dollars, this awesome supercar is one of the most expensive and fastest street cars in the entire world!  The Bugatti Veyron features an 8.0 litre, quad-turbocharged, W16 cylinder engine and is fed by four turbochargers.  I want one for Christmas, LOL!

As strange as it may seem, almost everytime I go see Sylvie Vartan perform somewhere, I see a super Bugatti, although this was the first time that I actually saw one in Miami.  The day when I finally get to drive one of these hot rods, Sylvie’s prophecy will finally come true!  On September 29, 2006, when I went to her gala in Monte-Carlo, the first thing I saw after I got out of the train station in Monaco was a Bugatti!  It was a statue of the car that won the first Grand Prix of Monaco in 1929.  I saw another one on February 9, 2008 at the Palais des Congrès (even though it was only a model, this was still quite a coincidence).  On that day, Sylvie sang for two concerts there and I went to both of them!

When the subject of Sylvie Vartan comes up, I think of endless coincidences:  Like me, Sylvie Vartan was also born in Bulgaria.  In 1952, she left her homeland with a group of 4 people to escape from the terror of communism.  On Christmas Eve that year, she arrived in Paris with her parents and her brother Eddie.  And speaking of coincidences, this photo of me and this super Bugatti was taken on Christmas Eve and I am wearing a Superman t-shirt!!!  Although I knew there would be reindeers at Santa’s Enchanted Forest, I never expected to see a super Bugatti there, LOL!  About 10 years after Sylvie and her family fled from Bulgaria, another group of 4 people including me, my mother, my uncle and a cousin, also fled from the hell of communism and our destination was exactly the same as theirs:  Paris.  These coincidences never seem to end, it’s absolutely incredible!!!  I have wondered many times if these are really coincidences.  Perhaps my destiny was meant to be this way. (Photo by Madison the Mermaid)