David Plimpton ʼ58 is a retired internist/gastroenterologist and remains involved in end-of-life issues. He and his wife, Susan, live in downtown Minneapolis near the Stone Arch Bridge. His older son, Ben, lives in London and works for the Mental Health Foundation, which provides contract services to the National Health Service (NHS). His younger son, Nick, develops non-academic programs for grade schoolers in the Wayzata School District.
Q: How would your friends describe you?
A: On the positive side: kind, thoughtful, possibly somewhat naive, avoids conflicts, predictable. On the negative side: procrastinates, over promises.
Q: Aside from necessities, what is one thing could you not go a day without?
A: A kind word
Q: What’s the last movie you went to see?
A: Steven Spielberg's “West Side Story.” The music and lyrics are the same, and the images and character development are superb.
Q: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?
A: Looking for a place to sit down.
Q: If you had a warning label, what would yours say?
A: Be conscious of our vulnerability, both mine and yours.
Q: What is the best gift you have been given?
A: A childhood and adolescence during a period of our country's great optimism, confidence and economic growth following WWII.
Q: What is one thing you will never do again?
A: Assume that everyone thinks the way I do.
Q: When you were little, who was your favorite superhero and why?
A: Beowulf, he was more effective against the monsters that might be living under your bed.
Q: What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
A: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague on the 25th anniversary of their Velvet Revolution.
Q: I was once mistaken for…
A: I was once told that I looked like Bernie Sanders.
Q: If someone rented a billboard for you, what would you put on it?
A: "Beware of hubris, in yourself and in others."
Q: If your life were a book, what would it be titled?
A: "He Preferred the Scenic Route"