At this time last weekend, we were attending a wedding in Oxford, Mississippi.  This was the second time we had ever been to Oxford MS.  The previous time was also to attend a wedding.  No one in either wedding lives in Oxford…

Oxford MS is the home of author William Faulkner.  My first cousin Dr. Edwin Turner Arnold III is a William Faulkner scholar.  Growing up with him, I became aware very late that his name was not actually ‘Chip’.  I myself have never had a nickname, in fact, no one ever even called me ‘Dave’ until I was in the Air Force.

In addition to being a Faulkner scholar, Chip is also a Cormac McCarthy authority, and has written books on a variety of subjects including oddly enough one on film director Robert Aldrich (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?) not to be confused with Robert Altman (M.A.S.H., Gosford Park, …5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean…).

During the research for that book, Chip had ongoing telephone contact with actor Lee Marvin, who had starred in Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen.  He once told me that it was a little surreal to answer the telephone and hear, ‘Chip, it’s Lee…’

Back to the wedding, this one was for the daughter of my lifelong friend Susan and her husband Hudson, who was — actually still is — a film producer.  After decades in Los Angeles, they have retired to Hudson’s birthplace, New Albany MS.

Los Angeles, California to New Albany, Mississippi.  The mind reels.

Though the current couple were married in a lovely little chapel in the absolute middle of nowhere near New Albany (is that a redundancy in this case?), the reception was a fairly enormous tented affair in the parents’ backyard.  As the groom is Canadian (the new couple live in Calgary), there were not a small number of Canadian guests.  Also, many from California.  Culture shock.

Now, as to the title of this post.  At last…

The cast of the previous wedding in Oxford MS included the parents of the bride, Broadway production folk (currently ‘The Lifespan of a Fact’ with Daniel Radcliffe).  The groom, the son of another of Stephen’s business partners, had worked for the Ford talent agency in Los Angeles and then in New York where he met his betrothed, who continues in the family business.

The bride’s parents were/are lifelong friends of (late) actor Edward Woodward and his wife (not late) actress Michele Dotrice.  Ms. Dotrice had apparently requested participation in the wedding ceremony in the form of a recitation.

In the middle of the proceedings, with the bride and groom frozen in-place, Ms. Dotrice recited — nay ‘performed’ — Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
‘O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!’

[etc.]

Nothing remotely that… mm… ‘remarkable’ occurred during last week’s ceremony.