NOW AND THEN: DON CONDIT
FAVORITE WAY TO SPEND AN AFTERNOON
Playing basketball with grandkids…Building something in the wood shop…Cycling…Gardening…Cooking…Listening to music — always!
MUSIC I PLAY MOST OFTEN
Old rock and roll, mostly. Fleetwood Mac…Rolling Stones…Van Morrison…Jefferson Airplane... Classical in the wood shop. Folk or jazz while cooking. Broadway on Sunday mornings.
IF I COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN…
I’d major in biology — or maybe double in biology and psychology. (I was a psych major.)
AN EXCELLENT HAMILTON/KIRKLAND MEMORY
The Alexander Hamilton Marching Kazoo Band! HistoPhilo 21/22. Independent study with Fred Wagner!
When I looked back on the blog post in which we got a glimpse at Dave Godlewski’s retirement (scroll down this blog to read it), I realized that the business of making sawdust is a popular alternative to working. It sure is around our house. During the last year, it’s also been a welcome diversion from COVID, The New York Times, The Washington Post, cultural upheaval and dishonest, delusional politics. It’s a great relief to turn off the news once in a while and think only about the kitchen island I am building for Brendan and Hillary. I recruited a master cabinet-maker to serve as my coach, and the experience is fabulous. We meet weekly to talk about design, pro tips, and next steps. Then I return to my shop and go back to work. With any luck, I’ll finish before the end of 2023. :)
Since retiring in 2016, I have cultivated other diversions as well. Elise and I continue to study French, for example. After taking a couple of courses at Colorado State University (for free, since we’re geezers!), we’ve turned to private lessons to supplement our travel (now on Zoom). Although we cancelled plans for another lengthy visit to France last year, we are hoping to return next year to visit our growing community of French pals.
Recently I have also enjoyed building a website or two for artists who are extremely worthy but not well-off. In my agency days, I always hired designers and developers to build sites for clients, so this has been a real learning experience. You may enjoy seeing the creative work of painter Georgia Rittenhouse McKenna, for example. Her story is remarkable, largely because at age 68 it is just beginning. Be sure to read a blog post or two — some of my favorite parts of the site.
Meanwhile, my best diversions come in three sizes — 8 years old, 6 and 3. We shut down on March 15, 2020, and “co-isolated” with our son’s family until we were vaccinated. During that period we spent a lot of time with our kids and sub-kids, and for this opportunity we are VERY grateful. We shared shopping and cooking. We ate together several times a week. And the children came for sleepovers every weekend. We are very lucky indeed.
To all of my H/K75 (+/-) friends — I hope you are healthy and enjoying life. Drop me a line and let me know how you’re doing! donaldcondit@gmail.com.
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