Texans have a difficult time overcoming the stereotypes that are associated with the Lone Star State. I grew up in Houston and went to high school in Dallas. When I went on youth leadership trips around the country in high school, because of the HUGE hit on television, "Dallas," other kids would ask if I had an oil well, horses in my back yard, or knew J.R. Ewing. It was often assumed that I also listened to country music. But I never listened to Country Western in the mid 1980s and nearly felt like something was wrong with me the way kids went on about it.
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| My youth leadership days circa 1985 |
My country music phase came in the late seventies, sandwiched between disco and the musical explosion of the 80s. When I was 9, growing up in a place also known as Space City, I was turned on by the sounds of disco. They reminded me of spaceships- whooping, beeping, and futuristic.
Houston isn't just Space City, but also home to the world's largest rodeo, an annual weeks long event Mom and I attended. It was here that I was introduced to the 3rd love of my life behind my mother and Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman—Olivia Newton John. We also saw other bands on the tiny white rotating stage in the center of the Astrodome; of note, Conway Twitty, Glen Campbell, and Roy Rogers. And this one time...Dolly Parton. Oh, my stepfather loved her. Not her music so much as her figure.
Then came 1989, when the NASA Johnson Space Center created an event for 15,000 or so employees and guests to honor the 20th anniversary of man's landing on the moon. The show was also taped and broadcast on NBC, winning an Emmy for sound mixing. It was called "Kenny, Dolly and Willie: Something Inside so Strong." Yes, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson.
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| Look at Penguin in charge |
My role as the security company Sergeant meant I was on site at NASA, just south of Houston, while they set up the stage next to an authentic Saturn V, the tallest, heaviest, and most powerful rocket ever flown. I was in charge of the overnight security team. I took a nap on the very stage where in only 24 hours would be the first full concert by these iconic singers. The night before the show, I entered Willie Nelson's dressing room, where several of his guitars were already set up. Of course I picked one up and strummed it.
That same night as I got off shift and was headed to my car, guess who was coming from the parking lot. Miss Dolly Parton herself. She wore a pink outfit, no wig, and a huge smile. I was the only person in front of her and as we passed I said, "Good morning Miss Dolly." Her reply, in that country twang she's so well known for, and still circling in my head all these years later as if just heard, was, "Well, hi there. How are ya?" It's a story I've told hundreds of times.
The first thing I saw on my phone when I awoke on the 25th of August was a text from my friend Jason. It read simply, "Sad day." Below that was a wonderful photo of a smiling Dolly from People Magazine. She's wearing a white lace top, a simple charm on a necklace, and that famous smile of hers.
It wasn't but a few weeks ago I was telling someone that my brother and his wife gave me a book about Dolly one Yule a few years back. I don't know why. I like her but nothing how I like Stevie Nicks. Perhaps because I mentioned that I had bought her Rockstar album. Yes, I still love Dolly, but more because she sings with Stevie Nicks and other favorites, like Ann and Nancy Wilson, Sting, Debby Harry, Elton John, Melissa Etheridge, Simon Le Bon, Pat Benatar, and Michael McDonald. But mainly Stevie.
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| 9 to 5 |
At the time the gift seemed odd. I have it displayed in my formal room but now that our dear Dolly has crossed over, I'll give it another look. She was such an icon, but more than that, a caring and magical woman.
She gave $1 million to help fund research that contributed to the development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Through her Imagination Library, she helped put hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children around the world. She starred in one of my all-time favorite movies, 9 to 5—a movie that inspired the screenplay I've written and hope to film one day before I die.
It's not easy to put into words the loss I feel at her passing. Dolly Parton has always held a special place in my heart. When people scratch their heads and wonder how this Texas boy doesn't like country, I correct them. I don't like the overly twangy country about losing dogs, women, and pickup trucks. But I enjoy the classics. Willie Nelson. Patsy Cline. And of course, the unforgettable music from Miss Dolly Parton.
Maybe I never became
much of a country music fan. But somewhere along the way, Dolly
became something more personal than that. She was the woman I passed
in a parking lot at NASA all those years ago. The woman who smiled at
me and said: "Well, hi there. How are ya?" And somehow, all
these years later, I can still hear her fresh as a country morning.
If you enjoy poetry, you can own signed copies of my books of Poetry at www.PenguinScott.com
