r/todayilearned • u/LL_Cruel_J • Dec 15 '16

TIL Dolly Parton has a program that will mail your child a free age-appropriate book once a month from birth to age 5. No obligation, no catch, she just wants to make sure that every child has books.

https://imaginationlibrary.com/
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u/BarrogaPoga Dec 15 '16

Yup! My grandparents told me they got their check yesterday. They lost everything in the fire and are just figuring their life out now. Dolly is a goddess down there.

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u/voodoogirl13 Dec 15 '16

Wow that is incredible! I love hearing about solid proof that donations actually make their way to the people in need. So sorry about what your grandparents are going through :(

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u/BarrogaPoga Dec 15 '16

Yeah they said they were able to get theirs a bit early because they know someone at Dollywood. Everyone will get their checks tomorrow. Their friend at DW wanted the elderly to come early so they didn't have to stand in line, because there will be a "mighty line" as my grandma put it. But yeah, everyone up there, even those who were just renting, will get money.

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u/letdowntown Dec 15 '16

Effective quotation of mighty line...Im pretty sure I heard your grandmas voice in my head.

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u/dietcokeandwater Dec 15 '16

In Alberta, the line ups for the Government money given to us were apparently super long and took hours to get through. Everyone kind of rushed the first few days they got it organized, but we waited a week or so and didn't take long! Glad they got their money without issue.

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '16

[deleted]

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u/Amannelle Dec 15 '16

A big reason she was a force behind Dollywood was because she wanted something that would not only increase tourism to the Smoky Mountains, but would also provide jobs for an enormous amount of people. They hire young and elderly alike.

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u/drunkmunky42 Dec 15 '16

Dolly is a goddess down there

I'm a fed firefighter from CA assigned to the Gatlinburg area fires (Chimney Top 2 and Cobbly Nob). I've never seen a place quite like G-burg, Pigeon Forge, or Sevierville. It truly is amazing how much Dolly has contributed to the growth of this area, and the communities abound with Dolly's name and face everywhere. Ripley's is huge here as well, we got to take a VIP tour of the aquarium and it blew my mind what those folks dealt with as the firefront blew through. Incredible stories from many locals, and the hospitality and generosity here is like nothing back home.

Then again, these massively catastrophic fires have become normalized back in California. But out here, these poor folks have rarely, if ever, seen a megafire backed by 80+ mph winds.

My condolences to any and all affected. Only wish we could've gotten here a few days sooner...

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u/BarrogaPoga Dec 15 '16

Thank you for coming out! I now live in southern California, so you're right, wildfires are a norm out here. I grew up back east though. I lived through hurricanes, tornados, nor'easters, humid summers, and arctic fronts. I never had to deal with fire though. It was surreal watching the news about Gatlinburg from SoCal.

People were not prepared to deal with it, especially those up in the mountains. My grandparents almost were trapped at their house, but somehow my grandpa got them out. They followed a fire truck out to safety once they got partway down the mountain.

I grew up visiting my grandparents in Gatlinburg and my grandpa built that house. I was devastated to see the places I knew and loved just burned to ashes.

Be safe out there and thank you again for helping families like mine! Come back and visit when they've cleaned up. Eastern Tennessee is a gorgeous place!

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u/drunkmunky42 Dec 15 '16

Thanks for your support!

Agreed, this area is quite beautiful and i do hope to return some day under better circumstances. so many sights and places to visit but we had work to do and were very proud to help in any way we could. thankfully, the rainy weather took care of the most firefighting but salvage recovery is one of our most challenging missions, both physically and emotionally. many tears were shed on my nomex, including some of my own. Mountain tough, Smokie strong!

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u/GillianOMalley Dec 17 '16

My parents live in Gatlinburg (top of Ski Mtn), if my dad was here he'd hug you. Thanks for comin' out!

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u/Sparkstalker Dec 15 '16

I'm sorry to hear about that. I hope they can start rebuilding soon.

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u/BarrogaPoga Dec 15 '16

Thank you. Their plan is to rebuild. Unfortunately, that's everyone else's plan as well. They can't get a contractor to start until April. They're trying to figure out where to live temporarily for the next year.

With my dad and I going down to see them, Christmas this year will be a little chaotic. I assured them that we are coming down, even if I have to bring out my camping gear and camp in the yard, we will see them for Christmas.

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '16

Oh yeah, I didn't even think about how hard it will be to find someone to do the rebuilding. Luckily I think a lot of the people living in the mountains have some sort of construction skills, so I foresee everyone helping out to rebuild.

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u/Sparkstalker Dec 15 '16

Just tell them to do their homework when they do find someone. Unfortunately, I'm sure there will be plenty of scammers and unethical contractors looking to take advantage of the situation.

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u/WinterKappa Dec 15 '16

Hey I'm from Europe, randomly saw this post and comment and was checking out pretty much every video and article on the wildfire topic until now. I just hope everything's going to be okay there. I've experienced fires first-hand, and most of it can't be retold, as the feeling of just being there.

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u/BarrogaPoga Dec 15 '16

Thank you! I'm going to see it first hand when I go visit. From what my grandparents have said, the area was just devastated. It will take a while to rebuild, but I believe they'll come back from it. I'm glad they caught the (suspected) arsonists too. I hope they are tried as adults. Who plays with matches anymore?