In July 2005, we started “The Last Word,” a column in which locals answer questions about themselves. It was patterned after Vanity Fair’s The Proust Questionnaire – which had its origins in a parlor game popularized by Marcel Proust, the French essayist and novelist, who believed that an individual reveals his or her true nature in answering these questions.
DAVID STAFFORD
Inweekly, 9/1/2005
David Stafford is flipping through a two-inch thick, light blue, paperback that he calls the Election Supervisor’s Bible. It contains all the new laws implemented by the state and federal governments since the 2000 election fiasco. The new elections guru is studying hard, familiarizing voters with touch-screen voting machines, preparing for an Escambia County sales tax referendum Nov. 1 and getting ready to move office locations. But he took a timeout to discuss his new truck, U2 and playing the drums.
What is your greatest fear?
Anything bad happening to my wife or two sons.
What is the trait you most deplore?
Dishonesty.
Which living person do you most admire?
My wife, Kim. William Stafford, my dad, who President Ford appointed as a U.S. District Judge in 1975.
What is your greatest extravagance?
My new truck, a Nissan Titan.
What is your favorite journey?
My family’s annual trip to the mountains in western North Carolina.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Attractiveness.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Stop it.
When and where are you most comfortable?
In front of my drum kit.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Singing.
What is your current state of mind?
Excited about all the things on the horizon.
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
Spend more time together.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I haven’t achieved anything yet. But my goal is to be the best husband and father that I can be.
What do you consider your greatest failure?
Not yet achieving the title of “Greatest Father.”
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Losing a child. Thank God, I haven’t but I think that would be the ultimate misery.
What is your dream job?
Since Bono is still fronting U2, I’d say I have it right now.
What is your most striking characteristic?
My receding hairline.
What have you learned in life?
You really can achieve your goals, if you set your mind to it and work hard.
What is the quality you most like in other people?
Honesty.
What do you most value in friends?
That they be there when you need them.
How would you like to die?
At peace.
What is your motto?
Don’t take your job or yourself too seriously.
