DrHGuy Note: Our fifth wedding anniversary seems the right time to repost (with minor updates) this online letter from the Duchess aka Penny Showalter aka Love Of My Life which first appeared five years ago at 1HeckOfAGuy.com, a predecessor of Cohencentric.com.
Dear Heck Of A Guy/Cohencentric Readers,
When Allan, soon after I met him, wooed me with selected passages from Chelsea Hotel #2 – a song I’d never heard before – I thought there might be something special going on.
When I found myself playing Diva #2 in his movie about how how to make a concoction called Chocolodka by combining cheap vodka and British candy bars in a dishwasher, I became convinced I had become involved in – well, let’s call it a unique relationship.
And when Allan convinced me that making the world aware of Do I Have To Dance All Night, a song never released on an album and one that Leonard Cohen, a singer-songwriter unknown to me before Allan and I met, last sang 30 years ago, was a moral imperative, well, I knew I had been irreversibly assimilated into a strange and fantastic new world.
None of that, however, prepared me for awakening a couple of days ago to find news of our wedding posted on the his Heck Of A Guy1 blog. (Ah, my wedding announcement sandwiched between New Video Of Leonard Cohen’s Chelsea Hotel #1 and The 2012 Leonard Cohen Tour Probability Meter on a Cohencentric web site that also features walker-based gymnastics, my own interview with the owner-chef of Dame’s Chicken & Waffles, and the suspiciously titled Protection From My [my fiance’s] Marriage For A Small Fee – it’s every little girl’s dream come true.)
Even more impressive were all those wonderful comments that followed the DrHGuy & Duchess Of Durham To Wed post.
I want to thank each of you for those comments. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of well wishes and love from people that I am just meeting for the first time through Allan’s blog. I have read each of them several times, and they never fail to make me smile and feel cared for. I am looking forward to being at least a small part of your lives as I help with the blog. Our time together thus far has been an enlightening and joyful adventure that I expect to continue for many years to come. I am delighted that we can share some of that with each of you. Again, a very sincere thank you for all of you that have touched my heart with your comments.
And, of course, I want to thank Leonard Cohen, whose songs and poems were a special – and effective – part of our courtship and have become such an important part of the life we share.
Sincerely,
Penny
aka Duchess of Durham
PS Regardless of what Allan says, we did not pick our wedding date because “it falls between gigs for Leonard Cohen and his band,” thus making them available to play at our festivities.
PPS On the other hand, if Leonard is willing to give us a rate and to bunk in the spare room to save a few bucks, …
Update: Leonard didn’t make it, but these flowers he sent did.
Credit Due Department: Images by Penny Noell Photography
12 Comments from the original post
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- 1HeckOfAGuy.com is now Cohencentric.com [↩]
Well, it’s lovely to “meet” you, Penny – and I wish you and Allan all the best for the future! Look forward to seeing more of you on this fantastic blog!
Lovely to meet you too Penny and I’m looking forward to many more of your collaborations on here.
Thanks Penny….you sound like a perfect match and it will be great to hear from you both on here!…xxx
A perfect match for DrHGuy, indeed!
Working as the Duchess of Durham’s counterpart in the Chocolodka Goddess Kitchen and collaborating with her daily via email as I do, I’ve become privy to all sorts of information (let’s just say the WikiLeaks have nothing on the WeddingLeaks! ? )
… but the most undeniably significant thing I’ve come to learn through my exchanges with Penny is that she is every bit as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.
Big hugs to you, Penny, from the Chocolodka Kitchen’s northern branch in Victoria, BC! ?
Coco
Next pic trousers Doc!!
So evident! the bride got better legs!!
glad to see you both so happy!
sincerely
asdeguia
Penny and Allan,
I love that last photo! The absolute symmetry of your steps! I want your permission to use it in the picture game on the LC forum sometime……
“walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme”…..
I just hope none of the other picture gamers are reading this!
On another note this blog has kept me entertained for nearly two years now and I thank you for that. I know I will continue to enjoy all you both wish to say.
Bev
Very pleased to meet you Penny, I look forward to reading about more of your adventures!
Penny, we do all wish you and Allan so much happiness together. You can be confident that Chocolodka toasts to your nuptials will be made ’round the world!
And, please, do let us know how broomcorn looks in a wedding bouquet ?
Congrats you two! Every happiness!
Wonderful post, Penny. You sound so lovely.
Right on, Bev, about their positions and footsteps… very graphic. My thoughts, too.
I’m so happy to see you both so happy.
Maybe we’ll get to meet you in Madison :).
~ Lizzy
And see how Leonard bows to you with his hat… he never fails to be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.
HUGE HUGS Penny.
Welcome to this wonderful world of Cohenphiles! Look forward to your posts.
dick