She May be Short But She Stands Tall

4 November 2009

She May be Short But She Stands Tall

            I thought I had selected a fine historical figure to write this paper on, however, I began to worry that my perceived image of her was the image Hollywood would have us believe.  In struggling with my topic, I was reminded that it is best to stick to our roots.  That is how I evolved from writing about Queen Elizabeth I to one of the queens of country music.  I remembered hearing of a little girl who used anything she could get her hands on as a microphone.  She sang anywhere she had an audience.  It did not matter if it was on her back porch when she lived just outside of Fort Bragg in North Carolina, the backseat of the car, or on the hearth of the fireplace in her underwear.  I am that little girl, and I wanted to grow up to be Dolly Parton.  One year my mother and her best friend dressed me up as Dolly for Halloween--complete with her trademark bosom.  For as long as I can recall, I have loved singing along to the radio, especially when country music wafted through the speakers.  Dolly Parton has always been a favorite artist of mine.  I have continuously admired her talent, but as I have grown older, I have come to admire Dolly Parton the person.  I admire her feisty, mischievous manner, her spirituality, her ambitiously strong work ethic, and the fact that she started out as a dreamer and remains a dreamer to this day.

            Dolly Parton is the daughter of a sharecropper.  The daughter of Avie Lee and Robert Lee Parton, she made her earthly appearance on, January 19, 1946.  It was a cold winter day in east Tennessee when the doctor arrived to aid in a difficult delivery.  Dolly’s father was poor and paid for the service of Dr. Thomas with a bag of cornmeal.  Dolly is the fourth of twelve children (Parton 2-4).  She began writing songs at the tender age of seven (Waddell).  As a young girl she spent her time dreaming and reading anything she could get her hands on (Dolly ix). 

            Dolly is a feisty and mischievous lady, her spunk started in her youth.  Dolly relayed a rather amusing story in her autobiography.  The floorboards in their small country home were set far apart.  The chickens would go under the house and poke their beaks up through the space between the floorboards.  The chickens were drawn to this area because as kids they would feed the chickens bits of crackers and bread through the floor boards.  Dolly would grab ahold of the chicken’s beaks when they poked through the floorboards.  The poor chickens would flail feriously for the few moments Dolly held them suspended by their beaks through the floorboards.  She goes on to write that it was a good thing her daddy never caught her or, “many a sore chickenbeak would be avenged on my backside in short order”  (Dolly 16-17). 

            Chickens were not the only victims of her feisty, mischievous ways.  Dolly is known for her trashy sense of style.  Even in her younger days she enjoyed dressing in tight clothes, bleaching her hair platinum blonde, and adorning her face with a thick layer of make-up.  Her grandpa Owens was a preacher and disapproved of her style.  He thought she was headed straight to hell and would call her Jezebel.  He would tell her that the devil made her wear her clothes tight and bleach her hair.  True to her feisty personality, she would respond, “No offense, Granddaddy, but I did this all by myself.  The devil had nothing to do with it” (Dolly 96-97).

            I can relate to Dolly’s feisty personality, as I have a feisty streak in me as well.  While I did not torment chickens in my youth, I did however, torment my younger siblings.  There are not many instances that I would not be brave enough to boast about.  In fact, there is one in which I am particularly ashamed of my actions.  I was about eight-years-old and my brother J.C. was almost two-years-old.  J.C. and I were eating our dinner of chili while my mother and step-father were preparing for a night out.  In my devious eight-year-old mind I had determined that my chili was just right, however, I felt J.C.’s could be hotter.  What better way to spice up a bowl of chili than with several shakes of the tabasco bottle?  Poor J.C. took one bite and began to howl like a distressed animal.  After threats of being grounded for a whole month, I confessed to spicing up my baby brother’s chili.  Of course, I did get a spanking to remember.  At the time I didn’t feel apologetic towards my brother because I was the one who got a spanking.  Now I feel incredibly horrible for tormenting him that evening. 

My faith is what carried me through J.C.’s death almost five years ago.  My brother died on Christmas Eve in 2004.  His death devastated our whole family.  He not only left behind grandparents, parents, and siblings, but a young son and numerous friends.  If my brother were still with us, I would apologize profusely for the chili incident.  My spirituality allows me to believe that we will one day be reunited as a family, I will get the chance to make my ammeds at that time.

Dolly also comes from a spiritual family and community.   I am sure it was her faith in God that helped her in the death of her baby brother Frankie.  Dolly writes in her book “In my childlike way, I came to understand that death is only frightening to those of us left behind.  I made peace with that idea, and with God…” (Parton 66)

Dolly’s spirituality flows through all aspects of her life.  You can hear it in her song writing, and if you venture to her amusement park, Dollywood, it is all around you. Dollywood has a chapel that is named for the doctor who delivered her, Dr. Thomas.  It also has a book store that is staffed by preachers in training and offers Bibles and other Christian based books (Dollywood).

In addition to her feisty streak and her strong faith in God, Dolly possesses a strong work ethic.  The fact that Dolly is still working hard in her sixties is evidence of this.  Dolly once said, “I might have had a small delay here or there but honey, they’ll be peeling my body off the stage if and when heaven calls we home (Iannacci).”

Merely one day after graduating high school in 1964 she headed to Nashville, Tennessee (Waddell).  Her success was not overnight, it took a great deal of work.  Most people do not realize the enormity of success she has achieved in her career.  Dolly has sold over 110 million records, has had 25 No. 1 singles, has released over 79 albums, and has published over 3000 songs. (Waddell)  Music is not the only avenue Dolly’s ambitous work ethic has taken her.

Dolly is in the process of developing a weekly Children’s TV show, she authors children’s books and music.  Dolly has publishing, film, and TV production assets.  And as if she was not busy enough, she also wants to develop her own make-up line.  Dolly wants to produce herself and a few other artists she has faith in.  To add to an already busy schedule, she is interested in doing TV specials and possibly a few more movies (Waddell).  She said in an interview once, “…I never intend to retire (Waddell).”

While I haven’t accomplished any of the great feats Dolly has in her life, I do believe in working hard for what I want.  I can remember helping my mother and grandmother with the canning and jam making.  My work ethic started when I was a young girl.  I worked all summer picking berries to afford new school clothes in the fall. 

I firmly believe that we need to use our abilities to give back to our communities in which we live.  I grew up extremely poor.  The house we rented when I was a freshman in high school was about to be torn down by the owner--we had no where else to go.  Our pastor introduced Habitat for Humanity to my parents.  Over the course of about nine months, my family volunteered with Habitat putting in sweat equity hours that would be used as a down payment towards a house of our own.  I learned a huge amount through that experierience.  I learned how to hang drywall and how to serve my fellow man.

Dolly has also given back to her community with a program that I feel is very important.  I believe that the love of reading starts in infancy and at home.  Dolly’s program Imagination Library was started in 1995 in her home state of Tennessee in Sevier County.  The Imagination Library sends children a book every month from birth to the age of five.  The funding for this project comes from Dolly’s own nonprofit organization Dollywood Foundation.  The Imagination Library has been awarded numerous awards.  The awards have sparked vass media attention causing other communties throughout the country to ask how to start imagination libraries of their own.  Dolly has since offered the program to any community that is willing to support it (“Dolly Parton: Book Lady”).  “The project now serves more than 180 communities….In these communities, the project is funded by local supporters…. (“Dolly Parton: Book Lady”).”

All of her successes have come to her because of her strong work ethic, but also because she was brave enough to dream.  Dolly once said, “I wake up with new dreams everyday  (Waddell).”  I believe dreams are vital as we traverse this experience called life.  Our dreams, our ambitions tell us which paths to take.  No dream is too grand if one is willing to work for it.  I once dreamed of being a mother; the road to becoming a mother was a hard one riddled with the ruts of disparity that come with infertility.  However, I endured and am now the mother of a precious little girl.  Going back to school was also a dream of mine.  I did not see how it was feasible with a young one at home.  I followed where my dream took me, and now find myself writing a research paper on Dolly Parton for my English class.

Despite her feisty, mischievous personality, one can see why I admire Dolly.  Although, I feel her spunk makes her who she is.  Her spirituality leads her every day, “My whole life I’ve asked God to guide me and lead me.  I live by that code and I listen close.  (Waddell)”  My own faith has lead me through some very difficult times, and continues to inspire me to be the best I can be.  Dolly’s strong work ethic has led her to great successes, and it inspired her to give back to her community.  She does all this with an air of confidence that waifts around her like the aroma of a lovely perfume.  My favorite quote of Dolly’s is, “I don’t regret anything I’ve done; I regret that I got caught doing some of it….But to say you’d like to change it all, to change one thing might change the whole picture… (Waddell).”  I too, do not regret any of the experiences life has handed me.  Some have been on a silver platter, and some have been on a platter laced with thorns, but they have all contritbuted to who I am.  I like who I am.

            

Works Cited

“Dolly Parton:  Book Lady.”  Reading Today 20.4.  Feb/Mar. 2003:  1.  Academic Search Premier.  Web.  2 November 2009.

“Dollywood Values.”  Economist 385.8554.  10 Nov. 2007:  42.  Academic Search Premier.  Web.  2 November 2009.

Iannacci, Elio.  “I’m Still Here.”  Maclean’s 122.3.  2 Feb. 2009:  58-60.  Academic Search Premier.  Web.  2 November 2009.

Parton, Dolly.  Dolly:  My Life and Other Unfinished Business.  New York:  Harper Collins, 1994.  Print.

Waddell, Ray.  “The Importance of Being Dolly.”  Billboard 120.17.  26 Apr. 2005:  30-32.  Academic Search Premier.  Web.  2 November 2009.