# DS Interview - Roy Harding



## Roy Harding (29 Jan 2008)

I've been here a few months - but never completed one of these - airmich and Mr. Bobbitt have thrown down the gauntlet, so I guess it's time to do it.

*What brought you to Army.ca?*
After I pulled pole, I found I missed the camaraderie of the Forces.  I found that camaraderie again here. 

*What kept you here? * 
The people, the camaraderie, and undying curiousity regarding what the next troll is going to come up with.

*What made you consider becoming a Staff member here? * 
Mr. Bobbitt asked me.  I guess I was hanging around so much that he figured he might as well put me to work!  I couldn't come up with a good excuse NOT to do it - so I accepted the position.

*If you were CDS, what's the first thing you'd do? * 
Renounce my citizenship in the Republic of Alberta, and seek to obtain citizenship in the Republic of Newfoundland and Labrador.

*What is your favourite aspect of Army.ca? *  
I find the humour, camaraderie, and general respect shown for others to be conducive to a great online experience.

*What is your least favourite aspect of Army.ca? * 
The disrespect which is sometimes shown by members towards other trades, environments, countries and cultures.  

*What do/did you enjoy most about the military lifestyle? * 
I loved belonging to something bigger than myself.  I loved being part of making history.  And I loved the friendships - those of us in the Military, LEOs, Firefighters, EMS and other "emergency service" occupations share a bond which a civilian cannot imagine or begin to comprehend.

*What do/did you enjoy least? * 
"Civil Servants in Uniform".  And they exist.

*What is your favourite war movie or scene? * 
I love the DI's "welcome address" to the new recruits in Full Metal Jacket - it's so over the top that it cracks me up every time I watch it.  I'm also particularly partial to the movie "The Bridge Over The River Kwai".

*What book are you currently reading? * 
For pleasure - fiction, Stephen King's "Hearts In Atlantis", nonfiction, Kevin Patterson and Jane Warren's "Outside The Wire".  For work - Christian Becksvoorrt's "The Shaker Legacy"
*
What is your favourite quote? * 
"I love mankind.  It's people I can't stand"  Linus Van Pelt (a Peanuts cartoon character - for those who may miss the reference)

*What is your favourite kind of music or favourite band? * 
No particular favourite - it depends upon what I'm doing.  When I'm driving or doing a lot of machining in the shop - heavy metal/hard rock (think Black Sabbath, AC/DC), when I'm reading, carving, or doing anything else that requires deep thought and concentration I'm partial to Baroque and Chamber music - for general listening when working around the house or shop it all depends on my mood - I love Dianna Krall, Stan Rogers, Corb Lund, Gordon Lightfoot, (I'm partial to ballads, I guess), and when I'm feeling particularly evil I like to play Roger Alan Wade and Johnny Horton.  My tastes are, to say the least, eclectic - I range from classical to punk.

*What is your favorite drink? (E.G. Coffee, Tea, Beer, other...?) * 
I love my coffee in the morning, and my beer and rye in the evening.

*What do you do on your free time (other than Army.ca, of course)? * 
I love to read, take long walks in the woods with my dog (I live in northern BC - there's lots of woods around here), and play Scrabble and Backgammon with my wife.

*What did you do in the military?*
I had a short, undistinguished three years as an Infmn in the late '70s - got out for two years, and then rejoined as an Adm Clk.  I spent the majority of my career in field units - 1 CBG (no "M" then) Sigs, Canadian Airborne Regiment, 440 (T&R) Sqn, 1 Svc Bn, 1 Fd Amb, LFWA HQ, 3 PPCLI

*Are you married? * 
Yes - I've been with this girl since 1977, we married in 1980.  She hasn't thrown me out yet, so I must be doing something right.

*Do you have any children? * 
Three boys - all grown and on their own now.  Dana is a Mechanical Engineer in Calgary, Ian is pursuing his PhD in Psychology in Melbourne, Australia, and Victor (the baby) is an RN in the ICU at University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton.  No Grandchildren - although I seem to have adopted the kids next door.

*Do you have any pets? * 
One dog - an Old English Mastiff who is my constant companion.  She's the daughter I never had.  Four cats - two little old ladies who helped us raise the kids - they're old and cranky now, and can't seem to get along with anybody but me - so they live in the shop and keep the local mouse and other critter population down.  Two younger (six years old now) Maine Coons - they are house cats and generally ignore me - they're really my wife's cats.

*What's the most memorable thing you have done or seen? * 
Watching my sons being born.  ;D

*Describe one thing you believe Army.ca visitors should know about you. * 
I'm a fairly approachable and understanding guy - but I won't tolerate being played for a chump (as more than one young fool has discovered).


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## PMedMoe (29 Jan 2008)

Beer and rye, hopefully not together... :-X
I also read Stephen King and have all his books.
Hey Roy, are you on Facebook?  I love the Scrabulous application!


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## Roy Harding (29 Jan 2008)

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Beer and rye, hopefully not together... :-X



I didn't know you weren't supposed to drink them together - am I missing something?



			
				PMedMoe said:
			
		

> I also read Stephen King and have all his books.



Me too - I have a tendency to fall in love with an author - acquire ALL his books, and then re-read them every couple of years.  I'm also a Dean Koontz fan, Robert Heinlein, Michael Crichton, Tami Hoag - amongst others.



			
				PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Hey Roy, are you on Facebook?  I love the Scrabulous application!



I was - but I deleted my account.  Some folks here (Vern ... , and Kirsten Luomala) sucked me into getting an account.  It's really not my thing - I've nothing against it, but I didn't enjoy it.  Kind of like the chat room here on Milnet.ca - I've got nothing against it, and if that's your thing then enjoy it - but you won't find me there unless coerced.


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## PMedMoe (29 Jan 2008)

Roy Harding said:
			
		

> I didn't know you weren't supposed to drink them together - am I missing something?


I meant hopefully not mixed together in the same glass, but that's just me....
I hear you on the Facebook thing.  :  I do like the Scrabble, though, keeps me sharp!    Now if anyone asks me to add applications, I usually ignore them.  >
I'm the same for books.  I also like Jeffrey Deaver, Jean Auel, Diana Gabaldon, Jack Whyte, and Mercedes Lackey.  I have a couple by Crichton too, but not all.


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## CdnArtyWife (29 Jan 2008)

Roy, 

You might want to be careful, after reading your interview, you seem more grandfatherly than gruff (you gotta keep the gruff appearance to help keep the trolls at bay).

I, too, am a Stephen King fan...and have acquired a large collection of books. 

And I have to give you points for your music library as well.

Now...

If you could meet one person, alive or dead, who would it be? And why?


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## Roy Harding (29 Jan 2008)

CdnArtyWife said:
			
		

> Roy,
> 
> You might want to be careful, after reading your interview, you seem more grandfatherly than gruff (you gotta keep the gruff appearance to help keep the trolls at bay).



I did "gruff" to death while I was still serving.  "Grandfatherly" is good - I don't have a problem with that.



			
				CdnArtyWife said:
			
		

> I, too, am a Stephen King fan...and have acquired a large collection of books.
> 
> And I have to give you points for your music library as well.
> 
> ...



Henry David Thoreau.

The man and his ideas fascinate me.  I'm REALLY big on individual responsibility and independence - I've set up my own little "Walden Pond" here in northern BC.  I can go weeks without meeting anyone other than my wife (unless you count my dog and the local bears) - and I like it that way.

A close second would be Benjamin Franklin - what a guy he must have been!


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## TN2IC (29 Jan 2008)

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Hey Roy, are you on Facebook?  I love the Scrabulous application!




Gawl... not you too! Your on!


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## Mike Baker (29 Jan 2008)

Want to come to the Rock, eh? ;D Come on down, we're good people.


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## Roy Harding (29 Jan 2008)

Mike Baker said:
			
		

> Want to come to the Rock, eh? ;D Come on down, we're good people.



Only if I'm CDS.

I love the Rock, and I love the people from there - but I'm quite happy on that coast at the opposite end of the country.


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## Mike Baker (29 Jan 2008)

Hehehe.

Okay, I have one, what do you do in your 'shop'?


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## Roy Harding (29 Jan 2008)

Mike Baker said:
			
		

> Hehehe.
> 
> Okay, I have one, what do you do in your 'shop'?



I build custom furniture.  Sometimes on contract for individuals, sometimes on "spec" - the "spec" pieces I sell through an art gallery.


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## Pte.Butt (29 Jan 2008)

Roy, you sound like the father I always wanted haha!

Okay here's another... What types of animals do you encounter while on your walks? Ever feel threatened by any?


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## Roy Harding (29 Jan 2008)

Pte.Butt said:
			
		

> Roy, you sound like the father I always wanted haha!
> 
> Okay here's another... What types of animals do you encounter while on your walks? Ever feel threatened by any?



I've already got all the sons I ever wanted - sorry.

I encounter deer, moose, bear, eagles, ravens, rabbits, squirrels - amongst others.

Yup - I've been threatened by bears, but my little girl Matilda stepped up to the plate on that occasion.  I think I may have written about it on some thread or other here - but suffice to say that she gave me a lesson on what courage is that day.  She's an Old English Mastiff, and on the occasion in question she was under a year old.  She saw the bears on the trail ahead of us, and clued in that this wasn't a good thing.  She placed herself between myself and the bears, tucked her tail between her legs, peed, and continued barking and growling at the bears until they sauntered away.  I have much admiration for her - she was scared to death, but doing her duty (as she saw it) - truly a courageous act - similar to acts of human courage I've witnessed in various locations over the years.


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## Pte.Butt (29 Jan 2008)

Roy Harding said:
			
		

> I've already got all the sons I ever wanted - sorry.
> 
> I encounter deer, moose, bear, eagles, ravens, rabbits, squirrels - amongst others.
> 
> Yup - I've been threatened by bears, but my little girl Matilda stepped up to the plate on that occasion.  I think I may have written about it on some thread or other here - but suffice to say that she gave me a lesson on what courage is that day.  She's an Old English Mastiff, and on the occasion in question she was under a year old.  She saw the bears on the trail ahead of us, and clued in that this wasn't a good thing.  She placed herself between myself and the bears, tucked her tail between her legs, peed, and continued barking and growling at the bears until they sauntered away.  I have much admiration for her - she was scared to death, but doing her duty (as she saw it) - truly a courageous act - similar to acts of human courage I've witnessed in various locations over the years.



Sounds like you have quite the Trooper there!  I guess they really can be man's best friend!


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## Roy Harding (29 Jan 2008)

Pte.Butt said:
			
		

> Sounds like you have quite the Trooper there!  I guess they really can be man's best friend!



She is a fine beastie.  I wanted a dog all my life, but for various reasons didn't get one until I retired from the CF.  If I had to do it all over again, I'd have been a dog owner long ago - probably.  The key for us is that I work from home - she's with me 24/7 (except when we're sleeping - my wife drew the line there).  AND - this is important - we attended obedience classes.  The obedience classes trained ME how to train HER - I can't imagine having a dog her size (she's 120 lbs now - about 55 kg, and still growing) who wasn't trained.  The destruction she could accomplish if undisciplined is beyond imagination.  I do tend to over indulge her a bit (she sleeps on the couch (the WHOLE couch) and can make cow eyes at me to get a treat) - but she is a generally well behaved dog.  The secret, I guess, is steady and consistent discipline.  Where have we heard that before?


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## navymich (29 Jan 2008)

Roy Harding said:
			
		

> I build custom furniture.  Sometimes on contract for individuals, sometimes on "spec" - the "spec" pieces I sell through an art gallery.



Can you share some pics, especially your "spec" pieces.


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## Roy Harding (29 Jan 2008)

airmich said:
			
		

> Can you share some pics, especially your "spec" pieces.



Nope - not yet.  Copyright is such a pain in the ass - and I'm a neophyte with it, so I'm being overly cautious.

We moved here in Jan 07 - and all my stuff is just now being unpacked.  I had to build a new shop upon arrival, and it's still being finished as we speak.  I've packed all my photos over to my neighbour - who is a professional photographer and website specialist, and I faithfully PROMISED her that I wouldn't release any of them until she finished setting up my website.  I've registered the website name (www.olde_bulle.ca) - but you won't find anything there yet.

Once my website designer and lawyer say "OK" (and I don't expect that too soon - I'm still catching up on dormant contracts and have no need to expose myself to the world, just yet) I'll send you the link - and release any photos you might be interested in.

It's a pain - but I'm still in "transition" mode, long after I thought I'd be operational here.


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## riggermade (29 Jan 2008)

Roy Harding said:
			
		

> She is a fine beastie.  I wanted a dog all my life, but for various reasons didn't get one until I retired from the CF.  If I had to do it all over again, I'd have been a dog owner long ago - probably.  The key for us is that I work from home - she's with me 24/7 (except when we're sleeping - my wife drew the line there).  AND - this is important - we attended obedience classes.  The obedience classes trained ME how to train HER - I can't imagine having a dog her size (she's 120 lbs now - about 55 kg, and still growing) who wasn't trained.  The destruction she could accomplish if undisciplined is beyond imagination.  I do tend to over indulge her a bit (she sleeps on the couch (the WHOLE couch) and can make cow eyes at me to get a treat) - but she is a generally well behaved dog.  The secret, I guess, is steady and consistent discipline.  Where have we heard that before?



Great company when you are in the shop hey Roy.  I've always had dogs but had to put our last one down 3 years ago, the kids and I finally talked the wife into letting us have another one. and got her last May..she does sleep with me ...the wife's fault...mind you she is only 30 lbs

Steve


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## navymich (29 Jan 2008)

riggermade said:
			
		

> ...mind you she is only 30 lbs



The wife?!?!  




			
				Roy Harding said:
			
		

> Nope - not yet.  Copyright is such a pain in the *** - and I'm a neophyte with it, so I'm being overly cautious...



Understood Roy.  Looking forward to seeing the site once it's all up and running.


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## Roy Harding (29 Jan 2008)

riggermade said:
			
		

> Great company when you are in the shop hey Roy.  I've always had dogs but had to put our last one down 3 years ago, the kids and I finally talked the wife into letting us have another one. and got her last May..she does sleep with me ...the wife's fault...mind you she is only 30 lbs
> 
> Steve



She _is_ great company - and I've got to admit that I remain somewhat amazed at how attached to her I've come to be.  She's always willing to join in with whatever I'm doing - which can be a disaster at times, the last thing I need is a helping tongue when I'm trying to execute a complicated glue up.  

I'm currently trying to teach her to differentiate between the various species of wood I work with.  As in - "Matilda - go get me that 6/4 pine we got in last week".  She's not really great at it - but when sent to fetch pine, she'll come back with spruce, fir, or pine - but NOT walnut, maple, or birch (which six species are her only choices at the moment) - so I know she gets the idea of the thing.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (11 Jun 2008)

Folks,
As you can see Roy has 'pulled pole". He wishes to put more time into his new shop and needs to be away from milnet.ca to do that.

The staff wish Roy nothing but the best in his endeavors and just want him to know that we will be here should he wish to revisit in the future.

Happy trails Roy.


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