I really didn’t know what to expect last Thursday night, when my friend David and I drove to Belmont University’s Fisher Center. I had received the invitation in December for what was called a screening of a new movie about my great-aunt, Minnie Pearl, who I knew simply as Ophelia. I had been so obsessed about my clothes, I hadn’t given much thought to what was going to happen once I got there. It was there, in small letters just under the date and time: “cocktail attire.” I wasn’t exactly certain what cocktail attire is these days, but I was absolutely certain that I didn’t have any. I didn’t even have dressy shoes since I threw away my only pair when I stepped into a mud hole and decided they would never be the same again. I called my friend David and told him I needed a date. “Where are we going?” he asked. (Everyone needs a friend like that!) “Do you have a suit?” I asked.
I don’t know what I would have done had David not agreed to go with me to the Fisher Center. It is a beautiful place, although a little intimidating. I realized soon after entering the building that I needn’t have worried about my clothes because there were so many people there, no one would have noticed what I was or wasn’t wearing. Other than my family members and a couple of friends, I didn’t recognize a soul. “Who are all these people?” I kept asking. David didn’t know either.
As we found our seats in the theater for the program, I
looked around in awe and thought of all the lives Ophelia had touched and all
the laughter she brought to us. I
thought about her early career, during the 1940’s, when her stories of the
folks at Grinders Switch brought a brief respite to those worried about
family members fighting in a faraway place. I thought about the service men she
entertained in her travels during the early USO tours and the hospitals she
visited. She didn’t start out to be a
comic, but she came to embrace her calling, realizing fully what a gift it is
to make people laugh. “Facing the
Laughter” is the title of the film. I
think I can guess why they chose that title. Learning to laugh at yourself is not an easy thing.
The night honored both Minnie Pearl and Ophelia Cannon, with Ophelia taking more of the spotlight than her alter ego in the funny dress and hat. Person after person stepped up to talk about her kindness, her class and how she inspired and encouraged them. One spoke of advice she gave during a low point in his career, advice that he put in a song he shared. Another told about a speech that touched her; others spoke about long friendships that sustained and brought great joy. At one point during the evening, David leaned over and asked if I remembered the night a bunch of us went with her to one of her television appearances and when the show was over, she said into the microphone, “Mary Beth, y’all be careful driving home!”
She was a celebrity, known the world over. And she was my family. My great-aunt, who sat at our dining table and told stories with her sisters and our family. My great-aunt, who served fancy Christmas dinner at her dining table and gave a little girl from the country a taste of “society.” My great-aunt, who encouraged me to be who I was and showed me how to follow my own path. My great-aunt, who sat with us at the hospital when my mom had surgery for breast cancer. My great-aunt, who modeled class and grace, even when the world wasn’t watching.
My great-aunt who gave me a bridal tea, and who called me after my young
husband’s funeral and shared words I never shared with anyone else.
I can look at videos of Minnie Pearl now and remember a 50-year plus career. I can look at picture in an old album and remember a dear family member. I just wish I could sit at our dining table again and experience the love and laughter we were privileged to share.
