Wes thu hal, Dolly

[marta_bee]

I was very sad to hear of Dolly Parton's passing yesterday. As lovely as her music was (and it was), I've been enjoying hearing all the other ways she just made the world brighter by being a good person. I was a lucky giftee of the books she'd mailed out, and they were prized possessions as a kid. We were a single-income family at the time, and as that family was of a local sports journalist (not the best-paying), most "fun" things were hand-me-downs or borrowed from the library, but those books were all mine, and they were beautiful.

It wasn't just the books, though. I remember her being quite active about supporting people with AIDS back when there was real stigma attached to it, and she helped fund research for the COVID vaccine. The way she talked about her religion was a great model of someone being moved to compassion without being judgmental. Just generally she seemed like a very empathetic, loving person who believed the best in all sorts of people.

Letters from Leo, the Catholic news Substack, has a nice look at her life if you're interested:

https://www.thelettersfromleo.com/p/lived-in-the-light-dolly-parton-gave

And here's one of my favorite of her less-known songs. Always makes me smile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_-YbWHs6DE

Comments

[ellynn_ithilwen]

😥

[shirebound]

I've always loved that song, and I've always loved her. She was a class act, a strong and compassionate human being, and an awesomely gifted artist. I truly thought she'd go on and on and ever on.

[cairistiona]

As so many have been saying on the Interwebz, the reaper took the wrong 80 y/o. :'( I remember seeing her at the Grand Ol' Opry when I was a kid (we used to go there quite a lot, my parents were huge country music fans)--such a glittery, fun performer, and her humanitarianism knew no bounds. What an amazing woman, what an amazing legacy. The world lost a treasure.

[ellynn_ithilwen]

I wasn't a fan (pop/country is not my genre), but I am sad too.