Weekend self-care open thread: Queen Dolly!
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Look, I am not the biggest country music fan.,
I'm partial to bluegrass and Americana. But the music played on most country music radio stations is just not my cup of tea. I leave that to my wife.
But, I have my exceptions. Especially when the person who engenders the music is also a simply marvelous human being:
As Dolly Parton tells it, her first-ever car accident in October 2013 was minor, but left her bruised and sore enough to seek medical advice at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
That’s where she met Naji Abumrad, a physician and professor of surgery. Abumrad knew next to nothing about the beloved megastar with big, blond hair, but he soon befriended her because he deeply enjoyed their talks about current events and science.
Their bond of nearly seven years received worldwide attention Tuesday after it was revealed that Parton’s $1 million donation to Vanderbilt for coronavirus research, made in honor of Abumrad, partially funded the biotechnology firm Moderna’s experimental vaccine, which a preliminary analysis released this week found is nearly 95 percent effective at preventing the illness.
And, of course, as a librarian, her charity to put books in the hands of children in need is nothing but short of miraculous.
So, for our weekend self-care, we visit the music of this singular singer-songwriter.