Dolly Parton | dual personalities

Doo doo doo…How was your weekend? Mine was quite pleasant, despite some bad weather. Sometimes bad weather causes us to slow down and settle in at home for some quiet time, and that is not a bad thing.

I took daughter #1 to the airport early on Saturday morning and she headed off to the east coast.

She and daughter #2 and DN had so much fun, but I wasn’t jealous or anything.

Screen Shot 2019-02-10 at 12.16.50 PM.png

Indeed, the OM and I had our own good time at the Elegant Italian Dinner–so good, in fact, that we all forgot to take any pictures. Just one:

The wee babes, despite being tired and a bit cranky when they arrived, took right to the nursery and had a fine time playing and eating pizza with the other kids.

I read a lot of A Light in August by William Faulkner. Besides learning some new words (morganatic: “relating to or denoting a marriage in which neither the spouse of lower rank, nor any children, have any claim to the possessions or title of the spouse of higher rank”), I can see how this book published in 1932, added several stereotypes to our culture, evidenced profusely in other people’s books and movies ever after.

I worked on organizing our CDs and DVDs. I hemmed some pants.

I cleaned and puttered and tidied.

All in all, not an unproductive weekend.

I must also add my high fives for our she-ro Dolly Parton, who was honored as 2019 MusiCares Person Of The Year. The eight-time Grammy winner is the first artist from “the Nashville music community” (please) to be honored at the annual Grammy Week gala benefiting music people in need. Well, it’s about time those snobs did so, I’d say.

Have a great week!

*John Fogerty

4 Comments

January 19, 2018

Birthday girls

by chuckofish

Today is our mother’s birthday. She would have been 92! It seems impossible that she has been gone thirty years. Well, gone, but certainly not forgotten.

MCC and siblings.jpeg

“There is so little to remember of anyone – an anecdote, a conversation at a table. But every memory is turned over and over again, every word, however chance, written in the heart in the hope that memory will fulfill itself, and become flesh, and that the wanderers will find a way home, and the perished, whose lack we always feel, will step through the door finally and stroke our hair with dreaming habitual fondness not having meant to keep us waiting long.”

–Marilynne Robinson, Housekeeping

This year I will turn the age our mother was when she died. It is a strange feeling.

I believe in life, which one day each of us shall lose. When we are young we think we won’t, that we are different. As a child I thought that I would never grow up, that I could will it so. And then I realized, quite recently, that I had crossed some line, unconsciously cloaked in the truth of my chronology. How did we get so damn old?

–Patti Smith, M Train

Yes, indeed, how did we get so damn old?

I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees and her book in my hands. Like a lot of things in my life, I’d just about worn it out, but it was worn out with love, and that’s the best kind of worn-out there is. Maybe we’re like all those used cars, broken hand tools, articles of old clothing, scratched record albums, and dog-eared books. Maybe there really isn’t any such thing as mortality; that life simply wears us out with love.

–Craig Johnson, Kindness Goes Unpunished

Well, I didn’t mean to get all serious, but, you know, sometimes we do.

P.S. Big congratulations to our other birthday girl Dolly Parton,
2121305_septepbddopa_cs006_h

who was recognized in the Guinness World Records 2018 edition for earning the records for most decades with a Top 20 hit on the US Country Songs chart as well as most hits on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart by a female artist. You go, girl!

Hey, it’s Friday! Have a good weekend!

5 Comments

April 25, 2017

“Tell them I came, and no one answered, That I kept my word”

by chuckofish

The Listeners

by Walter de la Mare

“Is there anybody there?” said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door;
And his horse in the silence champed the grass
Of the forest’s ferny floor;
And a bird flew up out of the turret,
Above the Traveller’s head:
And he smote upon the door again a second time;
“Is there anybody there?” he said.
But no one descended to the Traveller;
No head from the leaf-fringed sill
Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplexed and still.
But only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men:
Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,
That goes down to the empty hall,
Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken
By the lonely Traveller’s call.
And he felt in his heart their strangeness,
Their stillness answering his cry,
While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,
‘Neath the starred and leafy sky;
For he suddenly smote on the door, even
Louder, and lifted his head:—
“Tell them I came, and no one answered,
That I kept my word,” he said.
Never the least stir made the listeners,
Though every word he spake
Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house
From the one man left awake:
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,
And the sound of iron on stone,
And how the silence surged softly backward,
When the plunging hoofs were gone.

Remember this poem? It was written by Walter de la Mare (April 25, 1873 – June 22, 1956), English poet, short story writer and novelist, and today is his birthday.

Let’s toast him tonight, along with Sandy Gallin who died over the weekend. He was one of those wildly successful agents/managers in Hollywood, but one who never seemed to have cheated or stolen from anyone. The fact that he was a great friend and partner of Dolly Parton–who does not suffer fools gladly–says a lot.

They co-produced Buffy the Vampire Slayer you know. Anyway, his obit in the New York Times is pretty interesting, albeit terribly written. Into paradise may the angels lead thee, Sandy.

5 Comments

December 6, 2016

An honor just to have them on your shelves

by chuckofish

Books are to read, but that is by no means the end of it.

The way they are bound, the paper they are printed on, the smell of them (especially if they are either very new or very old), the way the words are fitted to the page, the look of them in the bookcase — sometimes lined up straight as West Point cadets, sometimes leaning against each other for support or lying flat so you have to tip your head sideways to see them properly. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher, the Pleiade edition of Saint Simon, Chesterfield’s letters, the Qur’an. Even though you suspect you will probably never get around to them, it is an honor just to have them on your shelves.

Something of what they contains gets into the air you breathe. They are like money in the bank, which is a comfort even though you never spend it. They are prepared to give you all they’ve got at a moment’s notice, but are in no special hurry about it. In the meanwhile they are holding their tongues, even the most loquacious of them, even the most passionate.

They are giving you their eloquent and inexhaustible silence. They are giving you time to find your way to them. Maybe they are giving you time, with or without them, just to find your way.

–Frederick Buechner

And isn’t Dolly wonderful?

3 Comments

October 26, 2016

Till the wheels fall off*

by chuckofish

How awesome is Dolly? I mean she really gets it done. One million books per month! Now there’s a woman to admire.

Of course, readers of this blog already know that we are big fans of the beautiful and talented Dolly and have been for years. Remember when daughter #2 was in sixth grade and had to pick a person who was a “creative producer” to report on? She picked Dolly (with encouragement from her mother). She won first place as the most creative producer!

Daughter #2 as Dolly Parton, holding a shoebox replica of the Grand Ole Opry.

And she taught her teacher a thing or two about the great Dolly Parton!

Anyway, it’s great to see that Dolly is going strong at age seventy–another lesson for us all.

Til the wheels fall off
Til the spotlight fades
I will lift your banner high
Lord, I will lift your banner high
And til the walls crash in
For the rest of my days
I’ll lay it all on the line
Til the day I die
Til the day I die
Til the end of the line
Til the day I die
It’s Your name I’ll glorify

–Toby Mac and NF

4 Comments

January 19, 2016

Happy Birthday, Mary, Dolly and Buffy

by chuckofish

Our mother and her older sister Susanne, circa 1930

Ah, it is January 19th once again. My mother would be turning 90! Dolly Parton is turning 70! And Buffy Summers remains a youthful fictional character.

In the above picture our Aunt Susanne is two years older (and so much taller!) than our mother. She has a hankie and bracelets. Mary looks as if she has just been told to “Quit it!” by Susanne who probably squeezed her hand in a mean way. Susanne looks tense and my mother looks a little sad.

Growing up, we heard a lot of stories about our mother’s perfect older sister. Although poised and beautiful, she was also very shy. Once when she left her umbrella on the bus, she made Mary go and stand at the bus stop and ask every bus driver on every bus that stopped if they had found Susanne’s umbrella. She was too shy to do it herself and too afraid to tell her mother she had lost it. We always were amazed that she could make our mother do something like that. But she could. She probably threatened to tell on her or something. Or maybe Mary was just used to doing things for her older sister.

Not to give you the wrong idea. My mother was devoted to Susanne and loved her very much. When she visited her in the summer of 1984, they would stay up until four in the morning talking. I think she was a little shocked by her older sister’s lifestyle. She had been divorced for ten years by then and had a boyfriend. She drank Scotch and stayed up late talking. She did what she damn well pleased.

When my mother was dying, it was Susanne she liked to talk to best. “She understood,” she said.

Sisters. There is no friend like a sister, right?

And there is no one like Dolly. Of course, I’ll be toasting my dear mother tonight, along with wonderful Dolly and Buffy. And while I’m at it, I’ll toast Susanne and sisters everywhere.

5 Comments

December 10, 2015

Follow me in merry measure

by chuckofish

“Tis the season, man! Deck them halls and all that jazz.

Here are a few things that are making me happy…

New videos from Total Lacrosse!

Although this is truly stupid, it still makes me happy. I mean, haven’t I been saying this for literally years?!

Dolly’s Coat of Many Colors is on television tonight (on NBC)!

Hello, Rick Schroeder!

Christmas cards are starting to arrive–not many–but I do love them!

And who doesn’t love poinsettias?

In less than a week daughter #2 will be home and daughter #1 won’t be far behind. So smile, and as my dual personality says, fight that inner Scrooge!

5 Comments

June 1, 2015

A cup of blessing

by chuckofish

It was a rainy, overcast weekend–which is kind of nice sometimes. It gives one permission to slow down and read a book instead of trying to get a million things done. You know what I mean?

However, I did manage to do a few things anyway. I saw this weird bug on my garage.

Have you ever seen anything like him? He was big like a cicada, but didn’t look like our typical flyover cicadas. Zut alors!

I found this while going through a bunch of old books in my basement.

According to the sentiment written inside the cover, my mother gave it to me February 14, 1968. She was always trying to encourage me in my endeavors francaise, but it really was a lost cause.

Apres le petit dejeuner, il avait repete sa chanson pour bien la savoir par couer, et maintenant il se la chantait tres gentilment, sans se tromper. Cela donnait a peu pres ceci:

Tra-la-la, tra-la-lere!

Zim-boum-boum, ran-tan-plan!

Brrm-brrm-brrm, la-di-dere!

Pout-pout-pout, zim-pan-pan!

(Sorry, no accent marks!)

I’m afraid Winnie the Pooh loses something in translation!

I watched To Have and Have Not (1943) in honor of Howard Hawks’ birthday on Saturday. It was as good as a Hemingway novel adapted for the screen by William Faulkner can be. And by that I mean excellent. Which Hawks classic did you watch?

I also watched a really terrible movie: Rhinestone (1984) starring Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton. I had never seen it, and despite Dolly doing her best, it was pretty awful. Stallone was painfully bad.

It is amazing that Bob Clark, who had directed A Christmas Story the year before, ever worked again.

Sunday night I DVR’d Grantchester and watched The Cowboys (1972) which is the story of a cattle owner (John Wayne) who is forced to go on a cattle drive with only a bunch of underage cowboys to help.

The young boys in this movie are excellent. Indeed, the movie is excellent and well directed by Mark Rydell. And although the Duke (spoiler alert) dies at the hands of some lesser men in the movie, it ends well.

The highlight of my weekend was when my old friend Dick, who was in town from Atlanta for our special event at work this week, dropped by my office on Friday and brought me this:

A Mike Matheny autographed baseball! He asked Mike to sign it when he was in Jupiter for spring training. Wasn’t that thoughtful? It certainly made my day!

Have a good Monday!

*Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting–a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.”

7 Comments

April 17, 2015

This and that

by chuckofish

TGIF. Boy, am I ready for the weekend! I plan to take it easy. How about you?

In the meantime here are a few end-of-the-week odds and ends.

1. I really want this house. I may have to buy my first lottery ticket.

2. The Ford Mustang was introduced to the public on this day (April 17) in 1964. It was named after the WWII P-51 Mustang fighter plane.

What a great car!

3. It is Thornton Wilder’s birthday today. I think I’ll eat some ice cream in his honor, because you know–“My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it is on your plate.”

4. It is also William Holden’s birthday.

He was born in O’Fallon, Illinois–just over the river from here–in 1918. So I suggest we watch one of his movies in his honor. When I think about it, I realize that he really is one of my favorites, although I seldom give him credit for being so. He was also one of those men who kind of just got better with age. Unfortunately, he was also a terrible alcoholic and died ignominiously. But you know, he had a younger brother, Robert W. “Bobbie” Beedle, who was a U.S. Navy fighter pilot and was killed in action in 1944–maybe that had something to do with it.

Anyway, there are obviously lots of good William Holden movies to choose from. My favorites are: Born Yesterday (1950), Sabrina (1954), The Horse Soldiers (1959), and Paris When It Sizzles (1964)–but there are lots of other good ones. I’ll leave that up to you.

5. Going to Athens, GA? You won’t want to miss this!

Have a great weekend!

6 Comments

January 30, 2015

WWDD

by chuckofish

How is it that I missed this wonderfulness?

And this:

Do you have big plans for the weekend? My only scheduled event is an annual church dinner which raises money for the youth mission trip in June. It is billed as “The Elegant Italian Dinner,” but it is anything but that.

Last year’s big event

They hang twinkly Christmas lights around Albright Hall, turn the lights down very low and serve lasagna. The youth group members wear bow ties and are the waiters. The cool dads serve as the bartenders. (This is an Episcopal Church–there is always a bar.) You get the picture. But it is always fun and the OM even goes.

I’m sure Dolly would too.

Besides this special event, I will be forging on with the basement clean-up. The OM cleaned off his workbench last weekend. Onward and upward.

Friday Movie Pick: Last night TCM featured movies starring Rod Taylor who died earlier this month.

They showed The Time Machine (1960), The Birds (1963), The Glass-Bottomed Boat (1966) with Doris Day, and a few other movies of his. My favorite Rod Taylor movie is, of course, the original 101 Dalmations (1961).

Rod Taylor was the voice of Pongo! I loved that movie! My friends and I in kindergarten “played” it during recess for a long time. Everyone wanted to be Pongo. I would watch it tonight, but I only have a VHS copy!

Oh well. I have a solution. Rod, who was good friends with John Wayne, made one movie with him: The Train Robbers (1973).

Rod is the one in the red kerchief.

It isn’t a particularly great movie, but it works for me! (And, yes, I have it.)

Have a great weekend, y’all!

6 Comments

dual personalities

Tag: Dolly Parton

February 11, 2019

“Lookin’ out my back door”*

by chuckofish

January 19, 2018

Birthday girls

by chuckofish

April 25, 2017

“Tell them I came, and no one answered, That I kept my word”

by chuckofish

December 6, 2016

An honor just to have them on your shelves

by chuckofish

October 26, 2016

Till the wheels fall off*

by chuckofish

January 19, 2016

Happy Birthday, Mary, Dolly and Buffy

by chuckofish

December 10, 2015

Follow me in merry measure

by chuckofish

June 1, 2015

A cup of blessing

by chuckofish

April 17, 2015

This and that

by chuckofish

January 30, 2015

WWDD

by chuckofish