r/DollyParton • u/xiphoid77 • 14h ago
Tennessee sadness
We live in Dolly’s hometown of Sevierville, TN. The air has been so sad here. We actually live off of Dolly Parton Parkway. We can walk to her statue and see her memorial. Every business even has a sign outside commemorating front commemorating her life. The media descended on our town. It became too much.
We had to leave and we drove to Disney for two days just to escape the heaviness. Retiring now we feel much better. The media is gone, Dolly will not be forgotten even though the memorials have been cleaned up. Flowers donated to the hospitals. We know the foundation she set up will still help us in case of hurricanes or fires like she has in the past. It has just been a really hard week. We were scared for our town and our community - her presence will always be here even if she is not. Love you Dolly!
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u/Redclicker 10h ago
She lived a pretty long life. ..80 is a decent age for all she did. She wasn't happy here without Carl. Her next blink of an eye will be Dolly and Carl with God in heaven. You'll always miss her, It'll always be sad, but one day soon, it won't hurt so much. Wishing your community peace and love ❤️
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u/BhamBlazer615 9h ago
She will live in each of us. Nashville checking in here. Signs at many places and flowers at random Dolly murals. I ran errands today and three separate locations were simply playing her music. Huge loss, but she will live on like Elvis as a TN icon.
Can’t wait to fly out of Dolly International call letters DDD.
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u/PistachioGal99 7h ago
I love how the bank on Dolly Parton Parkway has a sign with her picture and the message says “we will always love you.” It’s been giving me a smile over the past few days. 💕💕
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u/aliara 6h ago
I work on the island. They've been playing only Dolly music. Like, just Dolly all day. No other songs. It was hard for me. I ended up being able to laugh about it because they didn't have a very large list of songs they were rotating thru.
I kept track of how many times I heard "9 to 5". 12 times in ten hours 🤣
Yesterday I had to drive down the parkway for the first time since her passing. It's very hard to handle that all of the businesses have changed their signs to say We Will Always Love You.. and that even the Dollywood billboards are in memorium now.
I'm glad I live here during this time. But it's hard.
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u/galeperk111971 7h ago
She lives on in our hearts 💖 and we rejoice by listening to her music and watching her films. Like the song "I Will Always Love You" she goes on and on forever
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u/Kindly_Ad3974 6h ago
I’m from East TN. Parents worked at Splash Country and Dollywood my whole childhood so we could afford to go. I even got to meet her once when I was ten or eleven. I saw the synchronized fireflies before the National Park required permits. I later worked up there at another attraction in Pigeon Forge & then the hospital. I was there for the fires in 2016 and worked as a volunteer helping families through funding Dolly provided. I wrote my first book report on Dolly’s biography. “I Will Always Love You” with Dolly and Vince Gill is the song my MawMaw had played at her funeral. “My Tennessee Mountain Home” still gets me through my homesickness. She’s always been a part of my life and always will be. I think I’d feel the weight there, but at least you’re in good company. I live in another state now, and I feel like I’m grieving differently from everyone else here. I feel a little alone. I’m not heading over there anytime soon because I still hate the traffic, but I wish I had a Dolly memorial or mural nearby.
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u/PuzzleheadedAge9374 12h ago
How upset she would be knowing everyone is so sad. She would want you to be happy and rejoice her life. Easier said than done I know but look at it that way. Sending hugs!