A college friend of mine loved to proclaim "There's only two kinds of people in this world; the kind who like
Loretta Lynn and the kind who don't."
Now, he was right, and I'm sure y'all don't have to guess twice to figure out which camp I fall into. I love Miss Loretta. I grew up right down the road (well, about 30 miles if you prefer precision to folksiness) from Butcher Holler. My granddaddy -- a pretty good bluegrass guitar player in his own right -- raised us to believe that Coal Miner's Daughter was one of the greatest films of all time. And, in my estimation, Miss Loretta can do no wrong.
Well, last week, Miss Loretta went and did something that made me raise an eyebrow. She came up on stage at the Opry and announced her choice for the star in the upcoming Coal Miner's Daughter musical. It seems that the Queen herself
hand-picked Zooey Deschanel to play the Loretta character on Broadway. I feel disloyal, y'all. And conflicted.
Now, back in 1979, Miss Loretta famously pulled Sissy Spacek on the Opry stage the same way, to announce the lead of the Coal Miner's Daughter film. But,
Sissy Spacek is a Texan by birth and a Virginian by choice. Her name is Sissy, for goodness' sake. She's not from a California acting family. And she knows how to intone words.
I guess I need to trust that Miss Loretta knows how to tell her own story. I guess I need to remember that the Cult of Zooey is not all that different from my college friend's assessment of the Loretta Club. We'll see.
Whether you're celebrating one of these famous ladies or someone a little more close to home, Happy International Women's Day to all of HerKentucky's readers!
