Of Robert Redford, Me and the Guy Who Sang: the Lion Sleeps Tonight

(true story) Robert Redford yelled at me, though he did it over the phone. I worked at an answering service in town, graveyard and weekends alone. A struggling new mother helping with bills, I always felt so tired; a note said not to call him by 3, and basically here's what transpired: I waited according to what the note said, but then in the aftermath, although I followed instructions, I got only Redford's wrath. He screamed that his meeting was still going on, and asked why I was calling. But I had not done anything wrong, so his shouting at me was galling. For weeks I had worked and phoned things in to Redford's secretary, hoping one day "his" voice I"d hear, charming and not so contrary! I still love his movies, his politics, and his Sundance for Indies is heaven! But I'll never think of him quite the same as I did before '77. All for that time he yelled at me, a someone he did not know. I was just a stranger to him, so he let his anger flow. My voice I cannot raise to a stranger. That is not my style. Still, when I'm feeling down and out, do I always remember to smile? To people in this world I've met, have I always great kindness shown? When someone couldn't help me out, did I maybe start to groan? And worse, do I sometimes barely glance at people serving me? Do I sometimes briskly go on with my life, forgetting humanity? Another time I remember, when in a Target store, a different man, once famous, made my aging spirit soar. I can't recall this singer's name. We know him for a song. He sang, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." (his fame did not last long.) Promoting holiday music that day along with some other guys, he looked at me, a stranger, and said, "YOu sure have beautiful eyes." For Dane Ann's contest: Kindheartedness: What It Means To Me