Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
…I have not taken a real vacation in longer than I can remember. In the last few years I developed what is, for me, the perfect form of vacation*. I travel for business once or twice a year, conferences and such, in places like Salt Lake City and Dallas. A few years ago I decided that instead of flying directly home, I should go somewhere cool. For some reason, the rule governing these Road Trips is that I can go anywhere, provided I get home the same day I would have, had I flown directly back. (Could be 11:59pm…but got to be the same day). Naturally, the Wakefield Doctrine figures into these Road Trips. The Doctrine maintains that there is something called the Right of Hat, which allows a person to lay claim on people, places and things…mostly places. (This is not just a whimsical idea, the Right of Hat is a further application of the Treaty of Tordesillas.)
In any event, here is a video of my Road Trip to Estes Park Colorado, specifically,
The Stanley Hotel
Since I never write a Post without offering some sort of insight into the Wakefield Doctrine, below is how the Doctrine sheds light on the persoanlity types found among travellers and vacationers, alike.
scotts: They are (the) natural tourists and travellers, driven by the instinct to find the new, fresh hunting grounds. With their trademarked confidence and certainty, scotts love to explore and provided they do not get totally lost, they become experienced travellers. They can be fun travelling companions, especially if you are interested in the local culture, as your travelling scott is drawn to the local people and customs like a dog in a butcher shop.
rogers: Our methodical friends do travel, but are not drawn to the idea of travel for the sake of exploring new locations. After all, rogers know the world as it should be and anything that does not match (their) description, kind of doesn’t matter so much. Having said that, the majority of the ‘tourism industry’ owes it’s very existence to rogers. Seeing how it is the rogerian tendency to ‘live by storyboard’, it is only natural that a form of travel and tourism should develop to meet the needs of those rogers with a sense of adventure. That’s why they invented the: guided-packaged-tours (lead by some local semi-celebrity) for the Trip of a Lifetime to places like: the Holy City, New York City, River City, New Jack City, the City of Tomorrow, or the Town that Time Forgot. rogers, will so buy souvenirs, postcards and other proof-of-being-there items. And photos!! They totally will have volumes of intricately catalogued and cross-references, tabbed-index and short synopsis at (the bottom of each) photos of every place they believe they have been to!
clarks: Now here’s a surprise, clarks will be the most skilled of travellers, at least among the small percentage (of clarks) that actually venture out of their: rooms, homes, apartments, familiar parts of their hometown, parents basements, friends living rooms. When required to travel to strange and exotic places, the innate flexibility/adaptability almost always allows the clark to become a skilled traveller.
Thats about it. (btw nothing helps develop your Doctrine skills like sitting in the front of the airplane as the rest of the passengers embark! you watch and you learn)
*vacation in this context means the ‘go to strange places and see interesting things’ as opposed to getting away from the daily routine in order to rest and recreate.
About clarkscottroger
Oh thanks so very much Clark for linking up. I seriously loved hearing how each of the three personalities would view a vacation. Also, loved hearing a bit about you and your vacationing even if it was for business. Hope you have a great weekend and thanks again!! :)
@Janine
…and the Right of Hat! lol there have been 4 Road Trips in last 2 years… Bonneville Salt Flats, Mississipi Delta and Key West
Clark, I so LOVE your website. The video of your “hat” is priceless, and actually, if you look at the tallest mountain closest to you and then drive over it (using Trail Ridge Road) you’ll get the the marina where I use to work and the town where I used to live: Grand Lake, CO. :)
Secondly, you couldn’t be more right about clarks and travel. Here’s my motto: I LOVE to travel, but I also LOVE to stay at home. But yes, when I do travel (and I’m completely enamored with the idea), I do embrace it and explore my world as only a clark can. It’s funny, too, because I’m extremely hesitant to walk up to people in other countries and ask questions. I was traveling once with a friend from Brazil and we were in Spain. He drove me nuts always asking for directions and striking up conversations with people. Meanwhile, if I wanted to order a tea, for example, I’d stay at the back of the restaurant, thinking about how ‘perfectly’ I could make my Spanish sound before I’d order. Then, I’d shyly find a table with a red face, hoping I didn’t make a fool of myself.
@Cyndi
Small world…I might have to get a new supply of hats, the are fun (and totally necessary) when you are trying to claim major landmasses for your own.
Clark – Actually was wondering how you were maintaining keeping the person with the hat on backwards directly in front of you while you rotated. lol Hey, very little sleep last night, what can I say? I’m sure the concept of transporters intrigues you since you have your same day travel rule. That could truly expand your horizons. : ) Enjoyed the post!
@Rich
lol You probably remember the game (as a kid) ‘touch hands’? Where the goal was simply to establish contact, that’s my ideal vacation travel… The last Road Trip was to Key West… lol barley made it… landed in the very cool Terminal (at the Conch Republic) walked across the street to my rental car and drove to the ‘southernmost Point’ took a vid and started driving for Ft Lauderdale… to barely get there in time to catch the plane home.
I know it might be considered a cinematogrpahers trade secret, lol but that’s me with video camera at arms length as I rotate my self… a skill developed over months of practice (“Mommy!! Why is that man spinning in circles with his arms out?”)
I love to travel… although I will admit, after my last vacation I am a little on edge about going anywhere that is longer than an hour drive away any time in the near future.
@Stacy
…yeah,once you get into ‘change of underwear packing’ it’s a whole different thing.
Well, I’d like to think I’m mostly a Scott when I travel, but I think I’ve got some roger in there too…it’s been a long time since I’ve taken an adventurous vacation so maybe I’m just out of practice.
@Emily
funny you should use the word ‘practice’ in relation to travel, I totally believe that traveling ‘skills’ make all the difference
When I first read that the Scotts were the natural travelers I got into a bit of a huff here…because I love to travel and I’m such a clark! But then I kept reading and was happy to hear that Clarks are travelers too. :) I find traveling with Scotts (like my husband) to be a great way for me to get a feel for the people connected with a place, though I am much more comfortable with soaking in a new environment without interacting with too many people. It’s kind of a joke within my family that I will go anywhere, just for the sake of seeing it once.
@Amy
I totally get that…people will say (about my Road Trips) but you were barely there!… the point is that I was (there
Enjoyed the post. And the comments! Can so relate to them all but in particular to Amy’s. I’m with her – I too will go anywhere. Because it is different, and new and full of possibilities. Of what I don’t know. LOL
If I should be lucky to have a vacation again, I will have to remember to bring my DocHat and exert my right of hat!!
P.S. I love to take pictures when I’m somewhere new but unlike a roger, they wind up in their envelopes (pics in the before time. lol) in bags sitting uncatalogued in the closet!)
That video was pretty funny! Plus, I enjoyed being able to see the hotel and view. I went to The Stanley about 12 years ago. Every time I go back to CO (my mom lives there now) I say we’re going to go, but we still haven’t. Some day! Thanks for linking up!
Clark, you had me questioning which type I was. I don’t seem to fit in to any type. I tend to like being at home but love to visit places also. I go hunting down the history and landscape of a place, I chat to the people running the local stores and I spend ages researching a place once I book somewhere to go( I have never left the UK). I really enjoy soaking it all up, yet I have been known to come home a day early because I want to see my dogs, my own bed and my washing machine… I mean really, my washing machine! I need help!
@Emma
the cool thing about the Doctrine is that is allows for what seems to be multiple primary characteristics and still be useful! Best example is your: ‘hunting down history and landscape of a place’ which, at first blush may seem to indicate a rogerian worldview, but clarks are also capable and/or prone to dig into the history of things Now this is not an attempt to ‘have it both ways’… rogers are the personality types for whom history and tradition is of the highest value, but clarks are curious people (the most curious of the 3) and will want to learn more about a thing or a place… but it comes down to what does it represent (to you, to the person being considered), this search for tradition and history. If it represents the assertion of the significance of a place (or a thing etc) then that is rogerian, if it represents the need to know things and facts, but does not carry any more significance than that… then it could be a clark doing the search for history… We say around the Doctrine, ‘everyone does nearly everything at one time or another’ which is meant to indicate that acts, or interests, jobs or professions are not necessarily clarklike or scottian or rogerian in and of themselves…it is what these things represent to the person from their worldview’s perspective.
As usual, Clark, I’d say that I am a blend between Rogers and Clarks……I love traveling, at the appropriate time and place. Thanks for sharing!!
@Michelle
You are on track… i.e. narrowing it down. I would suspect a roger with a strong secondary clarklike aspect (try that for a whole, if it does not quite fit, try clark with a strong secondary rogerian aspect)
That’s a beautiful shot of the mountains behind you…wow! I hope this year you’re able to travel a little more…at least for a few days anyway :)
@Melaine
Yes…they (the mountains) are quite impressive, living in New ENgland, we have nothing like that anywhere here. At the moment it seems the only trip scheduled is Salt Lake City in March… more to follow, of course!