For a Special Wedding, an Unprecedented Reception

--Few weddings have inspired such an outpouring of public concern as Mary Vincent’s. She is the girl who was left for dead 10 years ago in Del Puerto Canyon near Sacramento, after her arms were hacked off by a rapist, Lawrence Singleton. He was released from prison last year and now lives somewhere near Tampa, Fla. But Vincent’s recent wedding, reported in The Times last week, has generated hundreds of gifts from the public. “There have been well over 250 letters of congratulations and gifts ranging from $5 to hundreds of dollars,” said Mark Edwards of Tustin, her lawyer. “There have also been offerings of homes and condominiums in Hawaii for their honeymoon. . . . Now we hope some airline will offer them passage to Hawaii so they can take advantage of those offers.” Her spouse’s surname as well as the state in which the couple reside have never been disclosed. Vincent, now 25, is seeking to collect a $2.4-million civil damage award against Singleton.

--The first “Oliver North Day” last year in Philmont, N.Y., was a lively affair, as 2,000 people lined the parade route. Few seemed to mind that the man being honored could not be there. But who could have guessed that the first civic salute would be the last? Residents of North’s hometown have decided to drop their tribute because, as Mayor Philip Mossman said: “He’s kind of dropped out of sight. . . . We’ll just have our community day on Aug. 27.” The former White House aide whose Iran-Contra trial has been postponed until after the presidential election is still fondly remembered--and supported--these days around town. Mossman said a local group has raised about $40,000 for North’s legal defense.

--Just when you thought you had read everything William Faulkner had ever written, along comes the publication of one of his never-before-seen short stories. The Missouri Review, the University of Missouri-Columbia’s literary magazine, is featuring the Faulkner story, entitled “Love,” in its August issue. It is thought that Faulkner wrote the story, an apparent self-portrait, when he was 23 years old. The story is part of the Review’s “Found Text” series. “ ‘Love’ was written before Faulkner had made that separation of himself from his fiction, a step necessary to so many writers finding their true power,” says Speer Morgan, editor of the Review.