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Greetings and Welcome to The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg
New episodes tend to air over the local KMMR radio station @ 5 minutes past 4PM each M-F. And have been doing so, nearly every week since Sept 2018.
I'm D.J. Rasmussen, O.K.s friend since junior high, possibly your neighbor & this websites maintainer, whom strives to get each episode's show notes written, the transcript proofed and the audio posted to the internet within a few hours of that days KMMR air time. NOTE: recently been publishing most new releases by 4:30PM.
Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy the time we can spend together.
I want again to welcome you to The 405 Coffee Break. Guys, get you a cup of coffee, glass iced tea, bottle of water. Let's see what's happening.
OK Solberg:What? Oh, Thea still hasn't got me the commodity report. We're gonna blame her. Guys, there's more, much more.
OK Solberg:Okay. As we know, Dolly Parton passed away on Tuesday. Let's take time to remember her. Today, I wanna take a few minutes to remember a lady who came from very humble beginnings but whose life became anything but ordinary.
OK Solberg:Dolly Parton died Tuesday, 08/25/2026 at the age of 80. She was born in 1946 in the mountains of East Tennessee, one of 12 children in a family that had very little money.
OK Solberg:The Parton family lived in a small 2 room cabin without electricity or running water. Her father, Lee, worked hard as a tobacco farmer, and her mother, Eviey Lee, raised those children and filled their home with music, faith, and stories.
OK Solberg:And there's one story from Dolly's childhood that I think tells us more about her than all the awards she ever received. Her mother once took scraps of cloth that had been given to the family and sewed them together into a coat for Dolly.
OK Solberg:As she stitched, her mother told her daughter the bible story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. Yes, sir. Genesis 37 verse 3 says that Jacob loved Joseph and made him a special robe.
OK Solberg:Dolly took that story to heart. She wore that homemade coat to school proud of what her mother had made for her. But the other children laughed at her because her coat was made from scraps.
OK Solberg:Years later, Dolly turned that childhood experience into one of her most beloved songs, Coat of Many Colors. She wrote the song in 1969 while traveling with Porter Wagner and it was released in 1971.
OK Solberg:It became one of the defining songs of her career. But here's what I love about that story. Dolly didn't remember that coat as something that made her poor. She remembered it as something that made her rich, rich in mother's love, rich in family love, rich in faith. That there is a truly wise woman, humble, caring, and saintly.
OK Solberg:Dolly was rich in the knowledge that what matters most in life isn't what you wear, what you own, or how much money you have. Dolly Parton went from that little cabin in Tennessee to become one of the most successful entertainers in American history.
OK Solberg:She became a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, philanthropist, say that twice. And even after she became famous, she never seemed ashamed of where she came from. In fact, she spent much of her life giving things back.
OK Solberg:Her Imagination Library has provided millions of books to children, carrying forward the importance of reading that she learned in a family where her father never learned to read or write. Think about that.
OK Solberg:She did it for her daddy so others could have the opportunity. So today, we aren't remembering Dolly Parton simply for the glitter, the fame, the songs, or the success. I want us all to remember the little girl in that coat because sometimes what looks like a collection of rags to the world can actually be a garment woven together with pure love.
OK Solberg:And truly, it can become one of the most prized possessions. And maybe that's a good lesson for all of us. Dolly Parton spent 80 years showing the world that you don't have to forget where you came from to become something great. And that little coat her mother made, well, Dolly was right. It was worth more than all the others.
OK Solberg:Rest in peace, Dolly. You gave the world, you gave us joy, you gave us happiness and a moral compass. And thank you, Dolly, for reminding us that sometimes the richest people in the world are the ones who learned long ago that money isn't what buys happiness.
OK Solberg:So until next time, as you go out there, listen to Code of Many Colors, would you? Remember now, don't be bitter.