77 and still bringing a different way of thinking

When I was a little kid and heard singer Dolly Parton on the radio, I wasn’t sure what to make of her. When we drove anywhere, my parents usually had the radio on the local country station and it would be frequently playing one of her songs.

I wasn’t a big fan of the steel guitars and twangy sound that make up country, but in the years since, I’ve come to appreciate her songwriting skills and her approach to life. She’s everywhere right now, showing up one week to sing Rocky Top at the University of Tennessee to dressing up as a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader and singing at the half-time show of their Thanksgiving Day game against the Washington Commanders.

However, Parton, 77, is still going strong and brings a different way of thinking. Here’s what I mean (and I’m not talking about her looks or her age):

—When there wasn’t much progress on a covid vaccine, she stepped up. It was all over the news how she donated more than $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help it work with drug maker Moderna to develop one of the first coronavirus vaccines to be to be authorized in the United States.

—And then recently I saw her response to several recent Tennessee laws that discriminate against Trans people, prohibiting gender-affirming care and restricting drag in public. Parton told media outlets, “I try not to get into the politics of everything. I try to get into the human element of it. I have some of everybody in my own immediate family and in my circle of employees.”

“I’ve got transgender people. I’ve got gays. I’ve got lesbians. I’ve got drunks. I’ve got drug addicts — all within my own family. I know and love them all, and I do not judge.”

Parton and I may not be on the same page on musical tastes, but I have to say, I love her approach to life. The older I get, the more convinced I become, that it’s best to leave the judging to God.

Here’s ten more Dollyisms, full of down-home, folksy wisdom and “Christian love your neighbor like you would like to be loved” sageness, that make a lot of sense to me:

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” —Dolly Parton

“I make a point to appreciate all the little things in my life. I go out and smell the air after a good, hard rain. These small actions help remind me that there are so many great, glorious pieces of good in the world.” —Dolly Parton

“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.” —Dolly Parton

“I’m not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I’m not dumb. I also know that I’m not a blonde.” —Dolly Parton

“I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love.” —Dolly Parton

“The magic is inside you, there ain’t no crystal ball.” —Dolly Parton

“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” —Dolly Parton

“Storms make trees take deeper roots.”—Dolly Parton

“I’m not happy all the time, and I wouldn’t want to be, because that would make me a shallow person. But I do try to find the good in everybody.” —Dolly Parton

“I’m very real where it counts, and that’s inside.” —Dolly Parton