His Shy Smile

Don't worry, my fellow and I of 30 years are doing all right! No Potential New Boyfriends for me!

Saturday 9: Potential New Boyfriend

Unfamiliar with this week's featured song? Hear it here. 

1) In this song, Dolly Parton locks eyes with a definite maybe. What's the first thing that attracts you to a potential new boyfriend or girlfriend? If you're currently in a relationship, what first attracted you to your partner?

Me with my husband of
30 years. Isn't he
adorable?

A. The first thing that attracted me to my husband was his shy smile and brilliant blue eyes. Then we started talking and I loved his intelligence.

2) When Dolly was still a very young girl, she met Johnny Cash, who told her to follow her instincts and pursue a music career. Obviously this worked out very well for her. What's the best advice you ever received?

A. To pursue my four-year degree at Hollins College, now Hollins University. I received my BA there in 1993 and my MA in 2012. Had anyone told me to marry my husband, that would have been number one, but no one did. I made that decision on my own.

My Hollins Bear
with my 2012 MA
announcement

3) Dolly enjoys telling interviewers how she met her husband at the Wishy-Washy Laundromat in Nashville. Do you have a load of dirty clothes, or some other household chore, waiting for you after you finish this week's Saturday 9?

A. I always have laundry waiting on me. To be two people, we go through a pile of clothes. And housework never ends, you know.

4) Dolly's Imagination Library is a charity devoted to children's literacy. What book did you enjoy as a kid? Or, if you're a parent, what book did you enjoy sharing with your own children?




A. I loved every book I read, I think, but one of my favorites was Miss Osborne the Mop by Wilson Gage. I bet you never heard of it. Apparently it is out of print.

5) Dolly's theme park, Dollywood, is a very popular vacation destination. When you have time off, would you rather travel or have friends/relatives visit you?

A. I would rather have visitors so long as they stay in a motel. It would have been the other way around before the bedbugs returned. Now I'm so terrified of bringing those back home that I tend to just ... stay home.

6) Dolly is godmother to Miley Cyrus. If you could advise Miley, what would you say?

A. Grow up. Go to college. Keep your clothes on. You ain't no Madonna.

7) Dolly has earned a reputation for being very warm and friendly to the public. Have you ever had a celebrity encounter?

VA Senator and former
governor Tim Kaine speaking
with Hollins U. President
Nancy Gray

A. I don't know if politicians count, but I've met several of the governors of Virginia (Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (now also state senators), Bob McDonnell, Doug Wilder) during the course of my work as a news reporter. I've met some prominent writers, too - Lee Smith being the most famous one who comes to mind. I also know several local television celebrities, local artists, and local writers, but that's about it.


8) As you can see by the photo, this song was originally released on vinyl. Do you still have any old-school LPs or 45s?

A. Yes. I still have all of my LPs. Even Captain and Tennille. My husband has all of his Rolling Stones albums. But we have nothing to play them on.

9) Sam simply cannot stand Dish TV's Hopper commercial, where hysterical grown men hide under the bed and up in a tree house because they're afraid of ... something. What commercial just bugs the beejeesus out of you?

A. All of them.