An obituary written by Rebecca Solnit. It is written in praise of Dolly Parton who has just died sadly.
"she was a goddess of the other kinds of love, of empathy, compassion, kindness, and to use a term from Thich Nhat Hanh, interbeing. "She was the voluptuous embodiment of empathy," her friend and 9 to 5 costar Jane Fonda said today."
Many of the old singers are coming to rest in their graves, this is the other pact of life, it is death. And though we may not welcome it, it is perhaps wise to look at what Dolly Parton gave to the world in her extravagance.
Kindness and empathy has often been outlawed to a smaller word 'woke', which calls all people who ask for compassion for their fellow human beings as somehow being wrong. and those that attack use short shallow words to describe that which they hate. But Dolly Parton set out on a mission to get children to read, to be educated in the ways of the world and somehow what she wanted is to be seen in the young people of today.
So as an icon of gaiety and goodness she should be remembered.
I was sad to see that she has departed this world. She was an amazing woman, full of life, joy, and compassion, and a wonderful musician. She will be much missed.
ReplyDeleteYes Janice she will be missed but a beacon for the future as well and her music will live on.
DeleteI think she was fabulous - talented and kind and funny and all the good things a human should be.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking this morning that she was 80 and I am 76 - what will I do with these next four years if that is all I will have?
Well Ellen I shall hold back on thoughts of only four years to live. You could live to you are a hundred - think on that;). Dolly Parton definitely made her mark upon the world.
DeleteAn icon of gaiety and goodness -- I love that.
ReplyDeleteShe was definitely different Steve.
DeleteYours is an exemplary obituary. I didn't know Dolly Parton's mission was to have children reading. A sublime goal.
ReplyDeleteDolly changed her time for the better and not just musically. She takes my generation with her. Going, going, gone.
That is so true Haggerty our era of music, in many ways experimental but every young person wanting to belong to a band and sing - has moved on, mostly to the graveyard but the music is still played. Solnit is an excellent essayist and writer, she covered Dolly's life beautifully.
DeleteWhile she never went without personally once she became famous, I doubt too many give as much back as Dolly did. What a wonderful and wonderous person she was.
ReplyDeleteShe was very generous Andrew and she did make her money work. She took the fact that her father was illiterate and made it her duty to encourage reading in children.
ReplyDeleteDo you know that every single employee at her theme park could go to college? She paid for both their tuition AND their books. The benefit was offered immediately.
ReplyDeleteShe was a very kind person Debby. An inspiration for the billionaires that are trying to dominate our world at the moment.
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