by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
January would seem to be a very good time for bringing baby girls into the world. Just this past Sunday, a mere two days ago, we witnessed the birthdays of two exceptional American women: Michelle Obama, the woman who showed the world how vital and important a nation's "First Lady" could be, had her fifty-seventh birthday, and Betty White, a lady who has been a television star almost since television first began, turned ninety-nine. And today another female American icon is having a birthday: Dolly Parton is seventy-five!
I've never seen Michelle Obama or Betty White in person, nor is it likely that I will ever have that privilege. But I did see Dolly many years ago - when she was in her twenties - at the Shrine Mosque in Springfield, Missouri. It was a great show that included Dolly's famous singing partner - of that time - Porter Wagoner. Dolly, the buxom blonde with the voice of an angel, and Porter with his own pretty hair and a sequined jacket - they were quite the pair!
Porter Wagoner was a native of West Plains, Missouri, the town where I currently live. He performed locally here in his youth, and made a few trips back to West Plains as an adult. One of our major streets here is named after him. Last year I was bragging to my barber about having seen Dolly in Springfield while I was in college, and he one-upped me by saying that he had seen her on the square in West Plains singing from atop a hay wagon!
Never try to upstage a local!
Did you know that Dolly Parton wrote the song "I Will Always Love You" that Whitney Houston turned into a monster hit? And did you know that she wrote it for Porter Wagoner? Well now you do!
And did you know that Dolly Parton is a genuine philanthropist, one who has supported a wide variety of charitable causes including child literacy and hunger relief, and who donated a million dollars for research on a COVID vaccine? Well, now you know that, too!
Happy birthday to three ladies of January - and thank you all for making our lives so very much brighter!
Do you know what year it was when Dolly and Porter were at the Shrine Mosque in Springfield? My dad had been Porter's lawyer and he took my brother and I to the show and we got to go backstage. I got to meet Dolly too and she was so beautiful and sweet. She had on a black velvet vest and pants. I am trying to figure out how old I was at the time.
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