I’m not a big country music fan, but I admired Dolly. Why not? She was religious and conservative to the core, but unlike many of her contemporaries, she didn’t hate anyone. Even blue people could appreciate that.
A few years ago, my wife scored some free tickets to Dollywood, so we decided to make a day trip out of it. I remember looking around at the innumerable tourist businesses in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville and remarking that all of them owed their existence to a tiny woman with tremendous heart and talent from a desperately poor background. The thought of it amazed me.
It still does.