smagik

When I was in high school in the 1990’s my art teacher loved Dolly Parton. Students would bring funny things they found with her face or name on them into the classroom and he ended up with a little collection of Dolly paraphernalia. One night, while out at the local video store, I saw a life size cardboard cutout of Dolly wearing a sequined white gown smiling straight at me. I asked the clerk at Hasting’s if I could buy it and, after asking his manager, they gave it to me for free. I brought Dolly into my art class the next day and she proceeded to stand next to my table for the following three years, inspiring me with her knowing eye and kind smile, watching over countless years of students and their art projects.

Today, while having coffee with a friend, I happened to glance down at my phone and saw that I had a bunch of text messages from friends, most with sad emoji faces and broken hearts. Dolly had passed away.

Dolly Parton. As close to a living saint as I can remember in my lifetime, Dolly embodied empathy, kindness, and charity at a time when fake self proclaimed Christians have lost the plot. Her generosity and integrity came through in her music and her interviews and in her life she walked the walk rather than simply talking the talk. She seemed to understand the point of it all and acted accordingly. She lived her life with the creativity, courage, love, and a faith that I aspire to.

Find out who you are and do it on purpose, with purpose.

Rest in peace, Dolly. We will always love you.