Dollywood – Part One

Slowly but surely, I’m crossing things off my “to-do” list.  It’s a lengthy, but attainable list, mind you.  For instance, here are some of the biggies … 

*Win an Emmy. (Done and done in 2000!)

*Publish a book. (Okay, technically, I ghostwrote it … but item completed.)

*Write greeting cards. (I’ve sold two … out of 211 submitted.  Go figure.)

*Go to a Madonna concert. (I nearly threw up, peed and blacked out simultaneously when Madge came on stage in Chicago.)


I set reasonable goals for myself.  For instance … for the last 22 years, I have wanted to go to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN.  1) because I love Dolly and 2) because I love Dolly.  Over the weekend, I finally got to make the pilgrimage.  It was like the Mother Ship had, literally, called me home. 

Despite being sick with a full-blown bout of strep throat, I somehow managed to drag myself half way across the Smoky Mountains.  I had goose bumps for days leading up to my arrival.  It was everything I ever dreamed and more.  From the minute you pull in to the parking lot, you are bombarded with a butterfly motif … Dolly’s favorite icon.  And even though it was raining, I was undaunted and had a grin from ear to ear. 

You can see how much influence this woman has had in this community over the years.  They simply adore her.  Seems every employee I talked to had either grown up with Dolly or one of her many siblings.  Now she gainfully employs half the town. 

Several times while I was traipsing through the park I had to stop in my tracks and soak it all in.  I was in awe of the enormity of the place and all Dolly’s subtle nuances.  She had lovingly recreated her childhood home in the middle of the park.  A little two-room shanty that housed the entire brood of Partons.  

The Dolly museum, meanwhile, left me speechless.  It was like a walk back in time.  Every Grammy, AMA or CMA award Dolly had ever won was spit-shined and housed in an enormous trophy case.  An array of costumes Dolly had worn over the years in her movies were on display … from the tacky blue “pleather” coat she wore in “9 To 5” to the leopard print bustier she recently wore in her new “Backwoods Barbie” video.  

Clearly, Dolly saved everything that was near and dear to her.  Of course, that included her childhood “Coat of Many Colors” that she proudly wore growing up.  Every love letter, every report card, every yearbook was lovingly preserved and on display for the public to see.  It’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to Dolly.  But never say never … as *Meet Dolly Parton and fawn over her incessantly is still near the top of my to-do list.

2 thoughts on “Dollywood – Part One

  1. I guess I didn’t realize that the coat of many colors was a true story. I’m glad you had fun.

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