A WHILE AGO I posted a little story about Kenny Rogers and what a genuine man he was. I thought I’d share it again today: I was taking a nap one evening and the phone rang. It was Kenny Rogers. He wanted me to come to his mansion he was putting on the market and help him with a book of photographs of various rooms and the surrounding areas of the estate. It was to show prospective buyers. He wanted me to bring a pen and some gold ink so I could hand letter the names under each photo—master bedroom, dining room, tennis court, etc.
I arrived later that evening and parked my old Mustang right behind his Rolls. I couldn’t help but have a good laugh at the contrast. He met me at the front door and we walked into the foyer—which was larger than my whole house. His table there was bigger than my bedroom!
We sat down in his office, showed me the book and what titles he wanted me to letter under each photo. We chatted while I lettered. After a while he said, “You’re about halfway through, you must have some idea of what you’re going to charge. That caught me by surprise because I had designed so many logos and graphics for him I was just going to do this as a favor. I replied, “I don’t know. Let me think about it.”
After a few more pages I started laughing. “What are you laughing about?” “I figured out what I want for the lettering. My sister is your biggest fan. Would you give her a call? She would absolutely freak out.” “I’ll do that anyway, but what do you want for the job?” I said, “That’s what I want.”
He smiled and told me to give her a ring. He got on the extension as I dialed her number. If there’s any night she can’t be out of the house somewhere it’s tonight! She picked up the phone and I told her there is someone here who wants to say hello. Kenny started to speak, “Hi Kathy, this is Kenny Rogers.” Total silence. He continued to talk. Then, “Oh, my God, it really IS you!!” They chatted for a while. She was totally surprised and thrilled. 35 years later I think she’s still on cloud nine.
