An ode to Dolly Parton

Look, you have artists, you have good artists, and you have Dolly Parton. Yes, sorry, but I really consider her to be in a category of her own. What a woman. My love for Dolly began in the most classy way: during karaoke. 9 To 5 and Jolene are just top songs to sing. One of my best friends has been singing Jolene at every opportunity (with varying results) since she was fifteen, and I am completely inspired. And now it turns out that besides making hits, Dolly Parton is also a bit of the person who always restores my faith in humanity. For several reasons.

Reason number one is Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. That is a non-profit organization that Miss Parton herself set up. The concept: parents can enroll their children for free, after which they receive a book every month, completely for free. Dolly wants to encourage children to read more and therefore started this organization. How cool is that? Unfortunately, it is (not yet) available in the Netherlands, but it is in the US, England, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. She has been doing this for twenty (!) years and has sent out about 115 million (yes, million) books.

The headquarters of this organization is located in Dollywood, and yes, that is named after Dolly herself. Dollywood also has a large amusement park and water park, and since I found this out... I. Must. Go. Here. Idea for the next outing Amayzine? Yes please. Round trip to Tennessee, near Knoxville.

Another reason is how refreshingly honest she has always been. The best woman is now 74 and looks really remarkably good for her age. Of course? Nah, but she has never pretended that it is. She has called herself a blank canvas, and all the things she does with it are just the paint that goes on it. Hear, hear. All the celebs who act mysteriously about all the surgical procedures and all the injections involved... We should all be a little more like Dolly. Because what does it matter? She admits herself that she may have gone a bit too far; ‘It takes a lot of money to look this cheap.’

And then Netflix came. Because yes, Netflix loves Dolly too. I've already watched the movie Dumplin’ several times (with Jennifer Aniston), and a lot of Dolly Parton songs and drag queen lookalikes), the docu Dolly Parton: Here I Am is also online and yes: that is also great. And last but certainly not least: the series Heartstrings, in which she also appears regularly and which she also produced. The latter consists of eight episodes of about an hour each, and in each episode, she tells how her biggest hits came to be. The first one is Jolene, so that's definitely one you should give a chance.

Not convinced yet? Then here are a few last facts: she is the godmother of Miley Cyrus, co-wrote a Broadway musical called 9 To 5, is an outspoken LGBTQ supporter, has been advocating for protected species (like the American Bald Eagle) since 2003, and received an honorary doctorate in music from the University of Tennessee. Honestly, what's not to love about Dolly? And she also comes across as fun and wise, so here are some of her best quotes, or Dolly-osophy:

• ‘My weaknesses have always been food and men — in that order’
• ‘I’m not happy all the time, and I wouldn’t want to because that would make me a shallow person. But I do try to find the good in everybody’
• ‘I’ve had heartaches, headaches, toothaches, earaches and I’ve had a few pains in the ass, but I’ve survived to tell about it’
• ‘A lot of people have said I’d have probably done better in my career if I hadn’t looked so cheap and gaudy. But I dress to be comfortable for me, and you shouldn’t be blamed because you want to look pretty.’
• ‘The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain’
  ‘If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader’
• ‘I’m very real where it counts, and that’s inside’