Blog 3554 – 07.28.2025

Dolly World, Dollywood

The self proclaimed hardest working man in music, James Brown, had a hit song in the mid-nineteen-sixties called It’s A Man’s World and though the lyrics to the song also included the caveat, “But, it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl”there persisted then and still does even today in the minds of far too many men this notion that a man must always be in charge, that it is a man’s world, and that in their misguided opinion no woman is qualified to hold positions of authority in business, politics or any other sphere over men. (My what long and run-on sentences your write, Crazy Dave.)

The Apostle Paul in one of his letters to an early church that preceded the writing of the four Gospels purportedly wrote, “Women should keep silent in church and I do not allow a woman to have authority over a man.” This very pig-headed idea is contrary to what we plainly know was the case in early Christianity where women were indeed leaders in the church, evangelists and teachers. The Roman Catholic Church has for years tried to malign Mary Magdalene, claiming she was a bad woman when she was more likely co-founder of the Christian religion.

But, I am not talking about religion today but women, one woman in particular, who has achieved great success in business, Dolly Parton. Often like Mary Magdalene, Dolly has be criticized for her look or using her “dumb blonde” persona to get ahead. I saw an interview once where Dolly explained where she got the idea for her “look.” As a poor girl growing up in a small East Tennessee town, Dolly noticed that the most popular woman with men in her community was a pretty blonde woman who wore lots of makeup, perfume, and figure accentuating clothes. Dolly was determined to use her looks to the best advantage to showcase her singing and songwriting gifts and to get ahead in this man’s world. And she certainly has creating a successful business model and a platform that has enabled her to do a lot of good works especially with her free children’s books and early reading programs.

Dolly has proven that she is no “dumb blonde” and that her two biggest assets are a big brain and a big heart. I am thinking of some lines from a favorite song, Fathers Be Good To Your Daughters:

James Brown’s caveat to women in his song has always been true this world would indeed be nothing without a woman or a girl. Thank you Dolly P. for reminding us of that fact in such a fascinating and entertaining way. The encouraging word for today is Dolly.

Your friend, fellow traveler, and fan of women especially those like Dolly Parton who are unafraid to show off their biggest and best assets,

David James White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lUqgqaCQwFcJ9u_187kXQNLYBbf6OKQv/view?usp=drivesdk

Fathers Be Good To Your Daughters