That was John Harding’s comment as I stopped to speak with him at Augustine Landing.
I had read on their Facebook page that he was an author, so I was curious to chat with him. I was excited when he agreed to talk.
My research on John included details from a description of him at a table in the Augustine Landing library. I learned that he has a master’s degree in economics from Montclair University, studied linguistics and English as an undergraduate, and did doctoral work in historical studies at Drew University after retiring as a copy editor and writer.
I went into the interview thinking I was going to learn about a career in journalism, but instead I got a lesson in etymology.
John Harding has a vast knowledge of the origin of words. Every question I asked him referred to a word and its definition.
Where did you grow up? I asked him
“I don’t sound like it, but I grew up in New Jersey,” he said. “I don’t have that accent in my voice,” he added, explaining that it’s Jersey City residents who speak that way.
“Where did you go to college?”
“First to Farleigh Dickinson, but they didn’t offer what I wanted. This was during the pre-Vietnam era, and the draft was in place. This was something all young men of my age were dealing with.”
Rather than wait to be drafted, he asked for an early draft, and I soon learned that the Army had many bands.
“I had played flute since grammar school, and they were looking for a piccolo player.”
Did he know how to play the piccolo?
“It’s just a little flute,” he replied.
He later told me that he no longer has a piccolo, but he has a flute in his apartment.
From the Facebook post, I learned that he is a writer. That was what piqued my interest.
During the interview, I learned that he was actually a journalist. After serving his time in the army, he started as an announcer for a radio station. From there, he worked for a magazine in Manhattan, and then he became a copy editor.
I found his description of a copywriter's role intriguing.
The way it works, he said, was that the reporter writes the story and sends it to the editor, who checks the facts and grammar. This, of course, was long before spell check, much less AI.
He continued, “Because I liked research, that was a good job for me. I was also interested in economics.”
And so it was: a career as a journalist who wrote a weekly column about economics began.
While working on his doctorate, he asked his professor for suggestions about his thesis.
The professor told him he had used his columns when teaching his economics classes, so a thesis was not needed.
I asked John about his personal life. He told me he met Sandra in December 1967 and married her in April 1968. I mentioned his wedding band, and he said they had been married 50 years, 4 months, and three days.
“We had been dating a short time when Sandra asked me if I knew that she had been married before. My response was that that didn’t matter. And then she said, ‘And I have a 7-year-old daughter.”
And John said, “When do we meet?” After they were married, John adopted Lisa.
“I was not in the room when the judge talked with her about that as a possibility, but I heard that she said, ‘I will have a father.’”
John told me that’s why he lives in Jacksonville and that Lisa visits him often.
I often see him interacting with others at Augustine Landing. He leads a weekly trivia gathering and remains interested in the world around him.
A recent hobby has him studying the significance of the number 12.
I suggested, “12 months in a year, 12 inches in a foot, 12 disciples.”
He then showed me several typewritten pages of his research.
“And I’m not finished!”
As our time ended, I asked for advice.
“Do what’s right for you”, he said, and keep learning.
PS John will be 90 in January 2027
