Dolly Parton never cut the line
Did you know Dolly Parton has a pediatric hospital named after her in Tennessee?
That’s one of many things I’m only learning about her now after her time on this Earth was cut short from cancer.
When I was a little girl, I didn’t really know who Dolly was until I found myself being driven to the Dollywood theme park (yes! Her own theme park!) in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. I had a great time. It features an exact replica of the tiny shack of a house she grew up in (see perennial favourite ‘Coat of Many Colors’ for more details on that).
And the more I learned about her, the more I was impressed. Prolific is a pitiful word for her songwriting prowess and performing talents. A barrier-smashing businesswoman, she could have been a billionaire, but actively chose not to be, building a philanthropic portfolio over many decades. Among those line items was a $1 million gift Vanderbilt University’s Medical Center to help develop Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Once the vaccine was ready to roll, she quipped to the press about not wanting to look like she was cutting the line, noting she was now eligible for her first dose due to her age, but was waiting for her appointment to come up just like everyone else in her cohort.
In a time when a lot of us are feeling battered—tariffs, multiple wars, economic distress, disease around every corner, the list goes on—when it’s easy to feel sick of everything, Dolly Parton is a reminder that generosity is a good thing. All over the world, people are spitting venom and the drawbridges are going up. But, giving of oneself, one’s time, one’s talent is what we’re all supposed to be doing. We should be savvy, and we should take care of ourselves, save something of our spirits and lives just for us (for example, name this incredibly famous woman’s husband . . . you can’t, can you?). But her life and her passing are a reminder that our time is limited and we can do a lot of good with it.
So I’ll leave you with a deep cut from one of her dozens of albums—and I hope you see a butterfly today, a symbol of beauty and gentleness she used again and again. Leave a comment with your favourite of her hundreds of tracks.