Descended from a long line of Appalachians, on the McCoy side of the feud, David was raised in a God-centric and American pride-influenced home in which kindness, human decency, humility, grace, self-respect, and good manners were expected and enforced. Blinded by three strokes and no longer able to read or write, David developed methods to compensate for these challenges to continue communicating; while acknowledging that there is more life in his rear-view mirror than whatever lies ahead through the front windshield, he insists this doesn't mean he has nothing left to say.