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Dolly is more than the queen of country
Published March 13, 2008
During a recent conversation with a fellow Marshall Countian, as often happens, the discussion became centered on my past association with Dolly Parton.
Dolly, for those who might have recently awakened from a form of Rip Van Winkle coma, is the person for whom the popular Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is named.
The initiator of this particular conversation, a loyal reader of this paper, asked if I would write a story about my experience with the well-known buxom blonde country music mega-star.
So, being the amiable person I am, and cognizant of the need to maintain my loyal following of readers, I said, “Your every wish is my command!”
Well, maybe I didn’t exactly say it that way, but it has a more expressive tone to it.
The recent St. Jude’s Radiothon, held by local radio stations WAVU and WQSB, brought to mind Dolly’s love of children.
Unable to have her own, Dolly devotes a portion of her time to children and children’s issues.
During my stint as mayor of Dollywood, I had the privilege of observing Dolly interact with terminally ill children through a program designed to fulfill the child’s dream wish.
Once a year, several children from across the nation would arrive at Dollywood and meet with the queen of country.
The children, however, met not the queen of country, but the woman behind the facade of glitz and costly wigs — Dolly Rebecca Parton — possessor of a compassionate and motherly spirit.
For whatever time it took, Dolly would greet each child with the anticipated wide smile and high-pitched voice.
Then, however, her motherly spirit, hidden within, would be released in a flood of warmth and tender embracing and caressing. Private conversation would ensue as the wide-eyed child gazed upon Dolly’s face, resulting in an immediate spiritual bond between the two.
Though other children, some confined to wheelchairs or portable beds, waited eagerly, but patiently, for their personal meeting with their wish come true, Dolly created the impression the child she was focused on was the only one in the room.
No description of the actual encounters can adequately provide the emotional importance of what took place for each of those children.
For a fleeting moment, the world of pain and distress for each child dissolved in Dolly’s embrace and words of kindness and encouragement.
Each child would receive several mementos from Dolly, but the real memento was carried away in the mind and heart of the child.
I have a lot of memories and stories of my 12 years at Dollywood, but the most indelible will always be those of Dolly Rebecca Parton — the woman — and what were for a few precious moments — her children.
[George Jones is a staff writer for The Sand Mountain Reporter. His e-mail address is boaz(at)sandmountainreporter.com.]
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