Run, Rose, Run

by Dolly Parton

“She sang like an angel who’s been cast out of heaven, yearning to fly back up to where she belongs.” Ruthanna stared at him. “That’s some highfalutin poetics for nine a.m. Also, to be perfectly honest, she sounds depressing.”

But as her mother always said, Don’t ever be late. It’s like proclaiming that your time is more important than someone else’s.

“Thank God,” she said. “I’ve run a nonstop prayer since I heard. Poor Jesus must be up there going, ‘Will someone please shut that woman up?’”