Our Own David Stafford: The Sane Choice?

[Nancy Bell Scott]

You be the judge:The answer is in the eyes, isn't it? They are either very sane or very not sane; no in-between. And yes, this is for real. After he sent it, I asked David several times if this is really him in a campaign poster from the '70s. And several times he said yes. I ended up believing him because at very first sight the eyes looked familiar--yes, they're the same eyes as the ones in his IUOMA profile photo. He ran for president in 1976!!! Google will not cough up this information, so we can only continue to pry until David spills the juicy details.

This poster is a very welcome addition to my studio, not only because of who it is but also because he reminds me of a best college buddy--they're almost lookalikes--who also lived in Santa Fe for years afterward, eerily enough.

David wrote a day's worth of stories on the back:They were written from his long-gone dad's workshop, and in fact this day is pictorially documented in at least one of David's recent photos--we see him perched atop a stack of the Durants' "Story of Civilization" volumes as he was writing these anecdotes, observations, and thoughts. He was visiting his 95-year-old mother, who surprised him in more than one way that day--she sounds most interesting and honest--it's possible the sanity or insanity came mostly from her side of the family. Mere speculation, however.

It really isn't possible to summarize this epistle of a mail art, which is the main reason this blog post is being written two weeks after its arrival. I have read and appreciated it several times, though, and the day's account runs the gamut from poignant to witty to illegal to ordinary. Never dull. The only negative is that he redacted a few lines of his letter (see above, it's obvious), and that is really most annoying. It's so like a presidential candidate, too.

In closing, here are but two of my favorite statements, both toward the bottom:

"A hallmark of my design is noticeably poor planning or even no planning, with a vain hope that meaning will emerge more readily from chaos than from order."

"Normally I would fill this with a 'FOR OFFICE USE ONLY' in large black letters, but this space must instead be filled with the acknowledgment of what a remarkable thing has occurred this day and how, over the course of several hours, you have been a witness to it. If this is not art, then it should be in some simpler alternative universe." (Right on.) A drawing of a "peach or nectarine" then follows. (He couldn't just give it a few fuzzies and be done with it?)

I loved being part of your day, David. Thank You!

[David Stafford]

Nancy, that's exactly what it was. Angie, regarding the turban...see below...In the 90s people in Santa Fe were taken up with the channeling thing and, wanting to stay au courant I purchased a turban and did my bit. It worked out for a while until the town was awash with swamis and channelers and the like. Now, of course, they've moved on to DaySpas and microdermabrasion which I haven't got the tools for.

 

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Don't think I'd want to run into the ones from theater seat bottoms, nor the washed-up history professors. The rest sound dandy. If only numbers didn't count (esp wrong ones)! Just think how different things would be now after two terms of President Stafford.  I bet the postal system would be in better shape despite the information age.

[Nancy Bell Scott]

That is hard to believe. Maybe there was too much competition and they all gave up.

[David Stafford]

People always want to focus on the numbers....It's not how many votes you get, Nancy, it's how you get them. Some we found loitering at the old bus depot, some were down by the tide pools under a lot of mossy rocks, some we had to scrape off the bottoms of old theater seats. It was kind of like a scavenger hunt. Of course, we didn't win but we made some great new friends in the garment district, specifically the corduroy coat district, mostly washed up history professors whose theses dried up before they could finish them. Good people for the most part.

[Nancy Bell Scott]

"that boutonniere attacked me just after the picture was taken. 16 stitches." I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING.  ELP!

David, so they dressed you up for the photo op, but what did you usually wear? A power suit and tie with no boutonniere and no great hair?

The campaign brochure is hilarious. It's a tragedy we can't see side 2. How many votes did you get?

[David Stafford]

It was just a photo op carefully staged to appeal to the granola set (they were big at the time). The cordurory sport coat, the jeans, the casually arranged tie...all calculated to send coded messages to my various constituencies.

[David Stafford]

Yeah, that boutonniere attacked me just after the picture was taken. 16 stitches.

[David Stafford]

Okay, I've been digging around for my campaign material ever since Nancy made me jump through several hoops of fire to prove that the picture is me and that I did run (sort of) for president in 1976. This finally burbled up from the filing cabinet of collective dave weirdness. This is side one of my campaign brochure. (I'm afraid side two has been lost.) Note the quaint and primitive composition with press type and a leroy lettering template. Note the hair (sigh).

 

[Marie Wintzer]

I have no doubt it IS him. David, why don't you come and run for french president next year? We need you there.

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Yay Angie, and so would I. ...