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.
Susan Watson
Inweekly, 8/4/2005
The American Civil Liberties Union first full-time Northwest Florida director is getting ready to host former Republican Congressman Bob Barr. He’s speaking at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Pensacola Junior College about revising the Patriot Act. Watson is also preparing to expand into Panama City. And she’s calling on the Escambia Sheriff’s Office to change its protocol in standoffs, after it shot and killed another lone individual. She hopes you don’t mind her messy new office, but she’s too busy helping protect people’s freedoms here.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Seeing my children happy and healthy.
What is your greatest fear?
That I’ll wake up and find that this job was just a dream.
What is the trait you most deplore?
Pessimism and apathy.
What is your greatest extravagance?
I don’t need extravagances…I have teenagers.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Temperance.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I may not be good but I’m fast.
When and where are you the happiest?
At home and at work.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish I was a better writer.
What is your current state of mind?
Happy.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My children.
What is your most treasured possession?
My family.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
To feel helpless.
What is your favorite occupation?
Working for the ACLU.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Determination and tenacity.
What is the quality you most admire in the opposite sex?
Intelligence and sensitivity.
What do you most value in friends?
Trust and honesty.
Who are your heroes in real life?
Hero is not a word that I use, but I admire my husband for putting up with me for all these years.
What is it that you most dislike?
Bullies.
How would you like to die?
Old – very old.
What’s your motto?
One person can make a difference!
Note: Susan was hired as the executive director of the ACLU of Alabama in 2013. She died suddenly in 2016. Read more.
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