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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Dolly Parton is selling frozen meals. How are the shrimp and grits?

Andre James / The box features Dolly Parton's signature golden locks and that smile that could brighten even the gloomiest Seattle day.
Andre James / The box features Dolly Parton's signature golden locks and that smile that could brighten even the gloomiest Seattle day. Andre James / The box features Dolly Parton's signature golden locks and that smile that could brighten even the gloomiest Seattle day.


Since I left East Tennessee for the Grand Strand of South Carolina roughly 544 days ago, the ubiquity of Dolly Parton had been watered down to Salty the sea lion.

Yes, Salty is to some (including myself) the main attraction of the swashbuckling hijinks at Myrtle Beach’s Pirate’s Voyage Dinner & Show, co-owned by Dolly.

No more seeing Dolly on official issued license plates, 24-foot-tall by 60-foot-wide murals in nearby Ringgold, Georgia, or tattooed on people’s flesh, including my friend Caitlin’s forearm.

That was until last week.