Winning Words 5/17/11
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” (Dolly Parton) Dolly is one who’s overcome the odds. She grew up “dirt poor” in Tennessee and, after “putting up with a lot of rain,” has seen the rainbow. Not only has she become wealthy; she is also known for her philanthropy. There’s a basic goodness about Dolly, shown as she plays “Doralee” in the movie, From 9 to 5. ;-) Jack

FROM FM IN WISCONSIN: I know what she was talking about. Saw my dentist for a tooth cleaning a couple of weeks ago, they discovered I had a vertical fracture of a root on one of my molars – he couldn’t do anything for me except refer me to a dental surgeon. So I visited him yesterday, was in the chair for an hour as they dug out the tooth and the roots. He said I was ‘lucky’ they found the problem as the tooth had infected my sinus. Have to see the surgeon again, then back to the dentist . . . he’s talking about thousand of dollars plus to replace the ‘cap’ on the adjacent tooth. And all I was planning on was a tooth cleaning. Now I’m looking for the rainbow – had enough rain and cold weather recently, frost this morning on May 17th. FROM JACK: I had a similar experience a week ago. I'm glad for the advancements that have been made in dentistry. My "expensive bridge" will be installed in July. I know of a dentist who named his powerboat, POPCORN!

FROM TAMPA SHIRL: Talk about rain, you sure have a lot of it in the North compared to Florida. We have had many Little League baseball games cancelled for rain or wet fields. FROM JACK: Yes, plenty of rain; some even made its way into our basement. A rainbow? My grandson will get to play a high school baseball game this week on the Tigers' field in Detroit...if it isn't rained out.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: Good old practical Dolly...she's the one who said, "I don't mind dumblonde jokes, because I'm not a natural blonde, and I'm not dumb!" And she isn't! Her words ring true, and I suspect we must all put up with a certain amount of rain, no matter what! In the U.S. much less than any other country, as far as women are concerned, from what I've seen in my travels! FROM JACK: Dolly is certainly quotable with her remarks...like this one: "I still close my eyes and go home - I can always draw from that." Who says that you can't go home again?"

FROM JE IN MICHIGAN: Good one and very appropriate….this rain will net beautiful iris, lilacs and all of the other spring beauties. FROM JACK: Did you mean"net," or "wet?" MORE FROM JE: I like the play on words!

FROM MOLINER CF: And lest we forget that she wrote one of the most beautiful love songs ever written, here's the link Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You - Lyrics FROM JACK: I wonder if Whitney ever sang it to Bobby?

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: She is truly a wonderful person who lives her faith. One of my favorite movies as a girl was Wizard of Oz. I loved the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". It takes a lot of work and perseverance to achieve one's goals and Dolly was willing go the extra mile. FROM JACK: The rainbow was Good News for Noah and his family. The Oz rainbow song has a great message, too.

FROM AM IN MICHIGAN: I saw Dolly Parton perform in Dallas in 1985. What a grand performance; talented, witty, warm personality. FROM JACK: Her self-deprecating manner is what I like.