Dolly Days

So I am back in Somerville now, but the next few posts will be a retrospective of my time in Chattanooga. I was so busy there between my conference and adventuring, I didn’t have much time to write.

The highlight of the conference was seeing Miss Tennessee herself, Dolly Parton. She spoke and then the National Endowment for the Arts gave her the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor for artists in the country. The funny thing is that she won it 3 years ago and had never had time to receive it. They couldn’t schedule the usual ceremony at the Whitehouse for the President to present it to her because her schedule was too busy.

She was hysterical, sassy, and utterly charming when she spoke and received the award from Dana Gioia (who also announced his early retirement from his position of chairman of the NEA at the conference). I wasn't super close, so I had to settle for this shot of the big screen rather than an actual close up.

I just remember me and my cousin sitting in my uncle’s van in my grandma’s driveway, blasting the Dolly Parton Kenny Rogers duet tape and singing and dancing along. It was pretty awesome.