Robert Redford died overnight. It’s funny how these things can affect you. We don’t know these people, rarely get a glimpse of them in the cold light that reality can shine but they can become a part of our history, an entangled strand in the tapestry of our lives that we find hard to forget due to the artistry they can create on the silver screen.
Redford of course was always a standout talent. His looks ensured him leading man status, and he was a big star before I was even born but his career was still being burnished when I started watching movies and he was probably already touching “legendary” status by then.
As a kid, I watched “The Natural” more times than I care to remember and he always brought a quiet strength to any role he played. The “everyman” who could do anything. As I got older and saw more of his films, I appreciated him on a greater level beyond acting, as a director, writer and producer of excellent movies. A philanthropist, environmentalist, artist and perhaps best of all, he was apparently just the man in person that one would hope him to be from watching his movies, from all accounts, although I’m sure, like all of us he had his moments.
I recently watched one of the last movies he acted in. It co-starred Jennifer Lopez of all people which made me wary but of course acting alongside Redford made her look great and it was an enjoyable, thought-provoking film, the type that Redford excelled in. It wasn’t a stretch for him, the sort of role he had played a hundred times, but he was still excellent.
He died in bed aged 89, a fabulous life, well lived. But it is still sad.
So long Sundance.
Linda is resting as I write. She got up this morning so our home help who comes at 8am every Wednesday could make our bed, and she stayed up and talked to various folk on the phone and is quite well. She had her chemotherapy treatment yesterday which was a relief as it had been delayed for three weeks due to Neutrophilia, a low white blood cell count in layman’s terms.
It’s been a bit of a worry; it always is of course, and she has been a bit up and down. She has been going out to lunch again although we have to be careful as the Neutrophilia leaves her wide open to getting infections. She had her regular, pre-chemo blood test on Monday and we hoped for the best and were a bit apprehensive when the tests came back and her white blood count was now too high! However, she turned up ready to go at the hospital yesterday and they were quite happy to put her through her paces with her therapy.
The oncologist had recommended a lower dose and had cut down the toxicity by twenty percent and she breezed through in a couple of hours with little or no problem. She was washed out last night and has begun her treatment of steroids this morning which should see her bouncing around for a few days. We go on.
It’s a nice day here in Canberra today. Sun is out. Little cloud to be seen. Warmish without being too hot. Nice to be alive…. unless you suffer from hay fever of course!
Take care and Strange Notations will be back again soon.
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 