Dolly Parton Recalls Her Raccoon Close Encounter, Talks Artificial Intelligence

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Country Living, Country Music, Country Music News, Dolly Parton, News
Tresa Patterson

Unquestionably, no other artist across musical genres draws more beautifully or authentically than Dolly Parton from the memories of her youth. My Tennessee Mountain Home and Coat Of Many Colors endure as more than country music anthems. Forever, the ballads resonate with the personal truth of their composer.

As with any truth in life, some recollections bring pain, while others bring pure joy and laughter, even in the most poignant impression. Recently, as Showbiz CheatSheet per MSN conveys, Dolly Parton’s remembrance of an intimate and unexpected run-in with a raccoon came to light. On a completely different front, the global ambassador for good holds very definite views on artificial intelligence (AI) and living forever as a hologram image.

A late date, a desperate need, and a cold nose

Like so many of the neighbors Dolly Parton dubs as “my people” in and around Locust Ridge, Tennessee, her family never enjoyed the luxury of indoor plumbing. For the times when the need was too immediate and the outdoor conditions too inhospitable, the Parton family kept an enamel jar in a closet.

One night, after returning from a late date, Dolly Parton describes how “I was absolutely bustin’ to pee.” Around 16 at the time, and not wanting to rouse the family or her father’s ire at his tardy daughter, she made her way to the closet covered by only a cloth curtain. Naturally, she relates being “relieved in a physical sense” and simultaneously feeling “grown-up and somewhat smug that I had pulled it off, so to speak.” Soon, however, 16-year-old teenager Dolly discovered she was not alone in the closet.

“When I felt that cold nose on my butt,” Dolly Parton remembers of the nesting raccoon, “I screamed bloody murder and literally peed all over myself.”

Of course, the startle sent every attempt to be stealth out the window, along with the raccoon with the aid of Robert Lee Parton’s poker, as Dolly retells in her 1994 memoir, Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business.

Dolly prefers her body of work to be on Earth forever, not her body and soul

Fortunately for Dolly Parton and her family, the whole raccoon incident quickly turned from terror to laughter with the whole family.  Now, the Shine songwriter sees the story as a useful remembrance to never “get too big for my britches.”

In contrast to her hardscrabble roots, the horizons for AI and immortality via holograms give Dolly Parton reason for caution.

“I think I’ve left a great body of work behind,” Parton declares of her vast imprint on music, TV, film, literature, and philanthropy. As for the high-tech strides, Dolly says no sale just yet, as Yahoo News confirms.

“I’ll have to decide how much of that high-tech stuff I want to be involved in because I don’t want to leave my soul here on earth,” Dolly Parton assures definitively from her London press event.

Furthermore, Dolly defends that “With some of that stuff, I feel like I’ll be grounded here forever. “When I’m gone, I want to fly with it,” attests the granddaughter of a preacher. Without a doubt, Dolly Parton knows that her presence will abide forever.

“I’ll be around. We’ll find ways to keep me here,” Dolly Parton comforts her flocks of loyal fans. “I believe in anytime soon if I can help it.”

‘What’s so bad about artificial?’ Dolly Parton wonders

With characteristic honesty and humor, Dolly Parton addressed her sensibility of artificial intelligence.

Without missing a beat, the Here You Come Again singer offered how “Any intelligence I have is artificial intelligence. Everything I have is artificial,“ Parton laughed.

While she may be right, Dolly Parton is also right that “I’m real where it counts,” as she often reminds. The results of her passion to help others reflect in every life she touches, whether through her Imagination Library or Jeff Bezos’ dollars.

Rather than count her trophies or plentiful honors, though, the 77-year-old Dolly is too busy with projects of devotion, such as her Rockstar album, a dedication to her beloved, hard rock-lovin’ husband, Carl. For his part, the acclaim already lies in his wife’s effort. In addition, he’s providing another crucial element.

“Well, he’s praying for me, I think,” Dolly adds. “I guess he’s hoping I can pull it off.”

All Dolly needs is a touch of divine intervention, and she never forgets where the source is.

Do you have a favorite story or song from Dolly? Let us know in the comments and look out for all the latest news on Country Music Alley.

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