"Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition and yawn and stretch and try to come to life...." I've never been a big fan of country music. I never listened to it, or kept track of what was going on in that part of the music world. However, you don't have to be a country music fan to be touched by the life and legacy of Dolly Parton.
My earliest memories of Dolly were of hearing people talk about her - not in recognition of her singing but because of her big breasts! "I'm not Dolly Parton." Ladies would say. Back in the '70s, big breasts seemed to be the envy of every woman. I can even remember Mom telling me when I was five or six years old, "If you don't finish your dinner, you won't grow up to have a big chest." On "Three's Company", Janet once complained about having small breasts, saying that when a teacher asked where the flatlands were, every boy in the class pointed to her. What people overlooked was that big breasts can be a big burden, as thousands of women who had to have breast reduction surgery will tell you.
I was beginning high school by the time "9 to 5" hit the billboards. I used to listen to Dolly sing that song and "Islands in the Stream" on the radio while I was cleaning my room or doing other Saturday chores.
The best thing about Dolly was that she was not always rich and famous. Born in Tennessee, Dolly grew up in poverty. She was the fourth of twelve children in her family. Her father was illiterate. Knowing what it was like to having nothing was probably what made her such a good philanthropist. She also grew up in a strict, religious family, where she was not allowed to wear make up. They must have relaxed the rules after she became a star.
Dolly made millions with her talent for singing, acting and song-writing, and she invested millions back into the community. She chose to put her theme park, Dollyland, in Tennessee because she promised herself when she was young that if she ever made it big, she would come back to her part of the country and do something great. She wanted to do something there that would create a lot of jobs.
Dolly had many qualities that I would love to reflect in my own life. As for the big breasts, I would rather have a little less notoriety and a lot more comfort!
"Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living, barely getting by, its all taking and no giving..." Yes, Dolly understood us!
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