21 Questions with Dwight Ball
It's the lighter side of the #nlpoli landscape
Cue the cheesy game show music, it's time for 21 Questions!
CBC's Leigh Anne Power is grilling the leaders of the province's political parties on some deeply personal questions in this rapid fire Q&A — a lighter offering of sorts during this political campaign.
First up, is Liberal Leader Dwight Ball.
What is the last concert you attended? The last concert was an Eagles concert.
What's your favourite cartoon character? I'm going to say the Road Runner.
Do you squash spiders or put them aside? Oh, I always put them outside.
What's something nice you can say about one of your opponents? Ches Crosbie has got a different sense of humour. And Alison Coffin just got this flair with her that gets some people going.
Do you believe in ghosts? No, I don't.
Who do you think has been the province's greatest premier? Ah, you know, I'm not going to pick one because I think all of them have brought a lot of great things there, but I think going back to Mr. [Joey] Smallwood, being the first premier and he spent 24 years there, so he's a senior guy so we always, I guess, give him the benefit of the doubt.
What would you like to be reincarnated as? An eagle.
What's the last book you read? The last book I read was Bob Cole's.
What would be your last meal on death row? Fish and brewis for sure.
What's a purchase you really regret? I don't have a purchase I regret … it's just a listen, you learn, maybe.
Do you have a pet? Well, this is an interesting story. There's a dog that I don't own that shows up at my house every weekend when I am home and he's been doing that now for about 13 years. So that's my favourite pet.
What possession do you value most? There's a book of Newfoundland and Labrador that I have, it's a series of six, that most people would be familiar with. But it's a set that my father had … so that's a possession that brings me great memories about my dad.
What's your most embarrassing moment? Embarrassing moment would be, I guess, going way, way back, to early [School of] Pharmacy days. And it was in the days when Frosh Week was something that people did. And I'm not going to get into the specifics of the story, but it was pretty embarrassing.
What did you want to be when you were five? Oh, at five, I wanted to be a pilot.
Have you ever peed yourself as an adult? Not as an adult, and I can't remember as a child either, but I'm sure it happened.
Have you ever stolen anything? Being a very young kid, I know there was a bunch of us that went into a small store and we were tempted. But I can tell you what, my conscience would never allow me to do it and I actually took the stuff from the young fella that was with me and left it right where it belonged, and actually went to the store manager and said, "This is what we planned on doing but refused to do it, it didn't happen."
What's a talent of yours that people might be surprised to know about? Not music, for sure. Not singing, for sure. I think people would be surprised how many different sports I play. I think people would be surprised if they saw me just on snowshoes … and I often do that alone. So I often surprise people if I'm just trekking through the woods and I run into some people, they look at me and say, "OK, where is your security?" And I say, "I don't need security, I can run faster than you."
What was your first car? My first car was an orange Volkswagen.
How would you describe a sunset to a blind person? I would think that it's something I would try and express it as a feeling. And that would be soft … a moment of silence and certainly about reflection and just let it sink in, because the colours would be very difficult to actually explain.
Do you pray? Yeah, I do.
What's your favourite colour? Well, if you look at my wardrobe there is a lot of blue in it. But not Tory blue — it's more of a light blue.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. A similar interview with PC Leader Ches Crosbie and NDP Leader Allison Coffin will be published this week. NL Alliance Leader Graydon Pelley didn't respond to multiple requests from CBC News for this segment.
With files from Stephanie Kinsella