Since deciding that I have not the wherewithal to blend subject matter, here is another unblended post.  This one has a Harper Lee half and a Truman Capote half, the author reunion completely accidental.

For reasons absolutely untraceable, I recalled the scene in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ recently wherein Miss Jean Louise Finch — witnessing poor Walter Cunningham ‘drowning his dinner in syrup’ — says, ‘What in the Sam Hill are you doing?’

How in the Sam Hill did ‘What in the Sam Hill’ become an expression?  Wikipedia explains (click) and, serendipitously, I was introduced to the term ‘minced oath’.  Lightweights like gosh, darn, heck, moving on to ‘F’ and shoot, I had only known them as ‘euphemisms’.

Missing from these examples is ‘Jiminy Cricket’ (click) standing in for ‘Jesus Christ’, or more accurately ‘Jesus Christ’!  (‘F’ frequently interspersed…).

I don’t know about you, but I always find it a little disconcerting when sweet Dorothy Gale (under pressure, yes…) blurts this out in ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

The Truman half:

Last Saturday we attended a party, a large annual ‘Twelfth Night’ celebration hosted by two attorneys in town.  Our invitations to previous iterations had apparently been ‘mislaid’ — a fact that is actually pertinent, rather than petty.  Okay, a little petty…

Post-party, I thought of Truman Capote’s notorious ‘La Côte Basque 1965′, wherein one character asks another how such and such a party went, the reply: ‘Wonderful, assuming you’ve never been to a party before’.  Of another unfortunate character, she snipes, ‘She’ll attend the opening of an envelope!’.

At the party, I chatted with someone who is a fixture at every art opening I’ve ever attended here in town.  Parties?  How would I know [sad face]?  I said I’d just overheard someone say, ‘Most parties, all the same people. Not this one!’

He replied with a kiss (an air kiss, actually…) of ennui: ‘Hmm… no…’

We on the other hand had quite a nice time with old friends with whom we seldom cross paths anymore.  Captions for these (stolen) photos: 1) My beau with the remains of a plate of cheese straws he made  2) Ravaged buffet (cheese straws were coals to Newcastle)  3) Masks requested as a nod to Mardi Gras, I have no idea what we are looking at (mirror?), all I know is, nothing is that funny.