Retire-VA 2021 - 28

WRITTEN BY DAN SMITH

Thriving in a Pandemic
Whether it's making quilts, learning how to teach on the internet or hopping on a sailboat and taking off,
these Roanokers are not letting the pandemic get them down.

develop projects or experiment with
new careers that they did not have in
the past. Many have taken full advantage
and are finding the situation to be less
about isolation and more about personal
creativity.
We talked to a few of them.
David Cannaday, a 63-year-old musician
and music teacher who books acts at
the Floyd Country Store, was teaching
at Fret Mill Music in Roanoke when it

Q

decided to close due to COVID-19. "A

Valley are getting a first-hand look at what

never followed through with the idea. I

retirement can look like for them. They're

immediately sent out an email to all of my

liking what they see.

students inviting them to tryout an online

UITE A NUMBER OF

couple of parents asked if I would teach

late-middle-age and young

their kids online. That is something that

retirees in the Roanoke

I have considered for several years but

The COVID-19 pandemic has closed
some doors and opened others,
frequently giving these people time to

28 / Retire-VA.com / RETIRE-VA 2021

lesson. Some were reluctant and some
were not at all interested."
Success was instant: "Everyone that

DAN SMITH

ABOVE:
David Cannaday
offers online music
lessons.
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Retire-VA 2021

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