Missing Dolly Parton

On Tuesday it was such a shock to hear the news that Dolly Parton had died at the age of 80. She was such a force of good underneath that towering head of blonde hair, and buxom figure, walking around in high heels and long acrylic nails.

I didn't understand her look, which she joked cost a lot of money to look cheap, but she has said in several interviews she loved to dress up, and that was her idea of beauty.

She was the fourth of 12 children, their father a farmer who was poor and they lived in a one-room cabin in rural Tennessee with no running water. Is it any wonder she thought that dressing up was glamorous?

Parton was never ashamed of her lowly background either. In fact she was proud of her father who she said was illiterate, but very smart. It was because of him that she started the Imagination Library, where children who are enrolled receive a book each month from their birth until they enter kindergarten.

Some people on social media have thanked Parton for giving them books to read. One journalist thanked her for the books, and she graciously accepted the praise.

We cannot forget that during the Covid-19 pandemic, she donated US$1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center to develop what was eventually the Moderna vaccine. She gave that funding at a critical time and got a dose of her own medicine in March 2021 with a jab.

She donated money to victims of wildfires in 2016, and Hurricane Helene, giving them money every month for several months to help them get back on their feet.

Her sunny attitude was irrepressible. She always had something nice to say about everyone, and was quick to make fun of herself. One time she was in Los Angeles and heard about a Dolly Parton lookalike drag queen contest and secretly signed up. 

She said that she slightly exaggerated her look, with bigger red lips and a bigger mole and sashayed on stage, but got the least applause. The winner? A man. And she had a hoot.

We miss Parton dearly for bringing rays of sunshine into the world and setting an example to others of how to use their money for good. Despite all the donations she made, and spending on outlandish costumes, she still leaves behind a US$500 million fortune which ain't shabby at all.

Parton worked hard all her life and deserves her beauty rest.

Thank you Dolly! We will always love you.