Robert Redford

Robert Redford passed away last night in his sleep. He was 89. 

My generation of women (‘74 rocks!!) remembers him best for one movie: “The Way We Were.” It was a love story with politics and a smart woman and Hollywood and beautiful people all wrapped into one. And, in the end, the smart (and not very attractive) woman does not get the very attractive and charismatic fellow (Robert Redford) but she still has a very, very happy life. 

I almost met Redford once. 

I was in Washington D.C. for a conference my senior year of college. It was January 1977 and the “blizzard of ‘77” was in full force. My professor had a friend who worked in the office of a U.S. Senator and a group of us went by his office to say hello. The friend was surprised to see us. 

After introductions had been completed, my prof’s friend asked, “Are you here to see Robert Redford?”  I worked hard to keep my mouth from flying open and shouting “Robert Redford?!?”  My professor, not nearly as impressed as I, replied, “No. Are you expecting him?”  The staffer shared that Mr Redford was scheduled to appear at any minute. He was meeting with the Senator to discuss pending legislation about environmental conservation. 

We stayed longer than planned but not long enough to meet Mr Redford; our conference schedule trumped the potential meeting with a movie star. The staffer wished us well and then signed Redford’s name onto a card for me to keep as a memento of the day. (That sounds so very hokey now, but, nevertheless, it happened.)

When we got back to the conference I commented to another attendee (someone I did not know) that we were in an office that was meeting with Robert Redford. Have no doubt, I didn’t say if outright, but I intentionally left the impression that I had met him. I even showed her the card with the scribble of the name. 

The next morning, another one of the 400 plus attendees (someone I did not know) asked me if I had heard that one of our colleagues had met Robert Redford. My bragging of an event that didn’t happen had turned into a full circle rumor. 

This was a lesson that I wished I had learned so well that day that I never did the deed again, but that was not the case. I only learned the lesson after additional failures. 

So, as the media reminds us all of the movies Robert Redford made and supported, I remember the embarrassment of hearing my lie return to me as a fact. 

Just a thought on a Tuesday night.