Close Enough To Perfect For Me

It was a great Alabama song and a perfect way to describe Dolly Parton, “Close Enough To Perfect For Me.” You don’t hear Dolly on many radio stations these days, but you sure hear her name. She has been everywhere lately: NBC’s “Today” show, Oprah on Apple +, you name it.

But this week she made the news for another reason. Dolly created a COVID 19 Research Fund in the spring when this virus started kicking in. The fund gave a million dollars to the vaccine research project working at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The Moderna vaccine is now reporting to the New England Journal of Medicine that it’s 95% effective, and Dolly’s fund was a big donor.

How great is that? She is helping rid this virus from our lives, gets the children books with her Imagination Library, promotes Tennessee tourism, makes movies and TV shows and writes songs that break records like “I Will Always Love You.” Dolly may be the greatest country star of all time. Known and loved around the world, she gives so much love and happiness whenever she appears. Thank you Dolly, and maybe we will have a holly Dolly Christmas.

Lee Brice and Tyler Hubbard are out of COVID detention. Both sound very happy to be free. Did you see where “Rhinestone Cowboy” songwriter Larry Weiss has run up some huge COVID medical bills? His daughter started a GoFundMe page. He needs some help!

Ticketmaster and others like IBM and CLEAR are thinking ahead and trying to develop a system with cell phones to make arenas and concert halls safe. The software at the venue will read the phone and see if you have taken the vaccine and/or have tested negative for COVID in the last 24-72 hours. When is all this going to kick in? Maybe fall 2021 or slightly sooner.

We have Thanksgiving and Christmas racing toward us. The radio downsizing is heartbreaking. The old saying fits that it could not have come at a worse time.

Good luck and stay strong to all those out of work.

Country music Christmas specials are coming from HBO Max for Carrie Underwood, CBS for Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, CBS again for Dolly

Parton and ABC with “CMA Country Christmas.” The Oak Ridge Boys are now in residence at the Opryland Hotel.

The season is here. Let’s take a breath, put on our masks and stay out of crowds and just make it a few more months until the vaccine kicks in.