Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
Una stands guard. The bottom third of the photo shows 3/4s of the letter ‘a’, the dirt making up the left and top curves of the letter have been dug out. To the bottom right is a rusted-red wheel barrow, the handles pointing back towards the camera, there are black grips on the ends of the handles. There is dirt in the wheelbarrow, it is brown and has lighter brown clumps for stuck-together soil. Leaning against the front left edge of the wheel barrow is a shovel. The working end of the shovel is in the trench that forms the letter, it is leaning at an angle like if you raised your left arm from against your side out, maybe eighteen inches. The shaft of the shovel is red and the end has a black rubber grip. The middle and top of the photo are of the letter ‘n’ and ‘U’ (we’re at the bottom of the word looking up). There is a certain black dog sitting guard. Una is facing away from the camera and sitting upright on her hind quarters at the inside top of the letter ‘n’. Her coat is lighter black on her back, shiny and her tail shows out behind her.
You know, I’m coming to appreciate how much reality is a process, as opposed to a product. (The latter supposition underlies the remarkable perseverance and the near-tragic inability to capitalize on the passing good fortune that most clarks encounter with a frequency that would make a pessimist doubtful and optimist suddenly agnostic).
In any event, this is the Wakefield Doctrine’s TToT post. Hosted by Josie every weekend, we’re all invited to contribute and/or share examples of the people, places and things that have caused us to feel the emotion of gratitude. It, (this bloghop), is fun and interesting. Many correspondents are remarkably skilled in (the) concise, orderly and direct presentation of their experiences. These writers have that gift of conveying, in simple terms, complex emotional experiences. Fortunately there is also room for those of us for whom the challenge of conveying emotion is all too daunting; by predisposition, mood or predominant worldview, we find the emotional side of the world something of a cypher. Relating an experience of gratitude can often be difficult, as we are usually not always paying attention to that side of the psyche.
Enough of the introspection. You want Ten Things that make me say, ‘hey! that was interesting.*’ Here:
1) So, you’re thinking, ‘Sure you’re saying you’re a clark. Last week’s instance of the story of digging a lot of dirt out of the ground and moving it from place to place was fun, and certainly suggestive of one born to the reality of the Outsider, but we want more proof.” Well, here is the wheelbarrow I’ve been using for the Una garden project. (It was a gift from Phyllis’s father when we bought the house in 1990. It, the wheelbarrow, was getting a bit old then.)
old metal wheelbarrow. it’s body torn from metal fatigue, the single wheel at an angle out of true.
2, 3 and 4): (i.e. My work / coastal community / me to drive around.
5) ‘Home and Heart (a Sister Margaret Ryan novel)’. Chapter 9 will be out tomorrow morning, at the latest. (Teaser: Sister Margret is encouraged to return to her childhood home on Tulip St, in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia. Since it is Sister Bernadine who did the encouraging, her trip is a surprise to no one. What she finds as she walks through the door is something else entirely.)
6) The soil reclamation phase of the Una garden project is complete. Totally grateful to be done with that part, sorta. it has been good exercise.
7) Phyllis and Una
8) something tomorrow? maybe…
9) the Wakefield Doctrine because with a proper of understanding of this perspective on people and such, one would have been able to correctly identify the gardener in our tale of dirt and plants-to-be as a person who grew up and developed the social strategies and coping mechanisms that would them a fighting chance of thriving, while living life as an Outsider. ya know?
10) SR 1.3
About clarkscottroger
Let’s try this again….before the page crashed.
1st paragraph. Excellent reminder for our people.
Enjoyable 10. Glad to see the garden progress. Good thing you have such reliable help. Did you tell her the garden didn’t need guarding just yet? :)
Looking forward to Chapter 9.
Put me down for Frist.
OMG that PHOTO!! Una KNOWS that’s her stake. And she’s beckoning you to be waiting on her already, you serf! :D Hehe…totally kidding, but that’s so remarkable!
Congrats on Ch. 9. I think I’m totally caught up, though commenting over at Jukepop involves me creating an account I have not just yet…but will put that on a to-do list. lol. Fabulous story – so many interesting characters.
Ah, my apologies for not calling in this evening: it’s revolution-around-the-sun-eve and we decided to have a nice dinner and philosophical conversation – which, I’m sure that the inventor of the Doctrine will appreciate. I’m never short on philosophy (except when I’ve had a particularly “social” day and have to recuperate; nevertheless, the thoughts will mill around regardless…then I’ll have to write them down and then I’ll end up with complex multi-clausal sentences reminiscent of a Dickensian novel that really was probably more non-fiction than not that resulted from interminable saunters around the streets of London before the time of cars…).
In any case, I’m *always* glad for the Doctrine and glad to have made your acquaintance like…five years ago. lol
She is perfect (as are all dogs)… she is not watching me, she watching the perimeter…guarding our territory
Hey! they day it’s your birthday (for the remainder of our current circumlocution)… sad that they took down all the good beatles music for the youtube… I used to post it alone with my HB wishes.
Hi Clark! I love, LOVE the photo of Una guarding her garden in progress. It’s classic! I thoroughly enjoy following (attempting to follow) your mental process in approaching the TToT exercise, and I so agree that it’s the process, not the product which give it value, although your final product is of high quality too.
The video tour was totally pleasurable, enjoyed by both the Papa Bear and myself. If I recall correctly from my childhood, those taller green branchy things are trees… I miss them! And to follow such road until it reaches the water is the best of all destinations IMHO.
The garden is progressing, and I do not envy you all that dirt moving, it’s heavy work. I do love the still functional wheelbarrow though, just as all of us somewhat older items are. I can’t wait to see evidence of plantings in the coming weeks, hopefully some flowers amidst the veggies, they love to share space!
You are more skilled at producing new chapters for your saga than I am at getting them read, much to my frustration. I am still trying to figure out why I can’t seem to keep up with activities that I enjoy.
Phyllis and Una… two of the truly sweet things in your life, just the weekly mention of them bespeaks your gratitude for what their presence adds to your existence.
Ahhh, The Doctrine… the gift of perspective, and we most certainly can use more of that in this crazy world! Thank you so much for another excellent edition of TToT from the mind of Clark! May the coming week be one brings you many reasons to reflect on the reality that life is good!
I have been in Texas (on a couple of business trips years ago) and it is so different. The scale. The distance. I totally enjoy that proximity to salt water, always changing, never boring.
Will make a note (to mention to Phyllis) the suggestion of non-edible plant life, bling-up the garden. Lol I had to post the photo of the wheel barrow, I know that it can’t last forever, rust and metal fatigue to will do what time is reluctant to, but the fact of it performing it’s function perfectly (and it still a perfect machine, as the wheel turns and tub holds dirt and the handles are still attached… it is the operator that is betrayed by time… the trips from A to B do taking longer than once they did! lol)
Since rabbits are known to take over gardening responsibilities, guardianship of the Una plot falls to Una.
I liked the virtual Sunday drive. It seems that you may be going faster than 25 mph though – hard to see the houses whirling by (LOL).
And then there are the stop signs. What stop signs? lol
I totally looked both ways! The season hasn’t started yet, so there was, like, hardly anyone there..
there is that funny thing about the size of the field of vision, the care was going normal speed by the ‘focus’ of your attention was limited and therefore time passed faster…. ayiiee a secret of the universe! don’t tell anyone!
Love the photo of your gardening assistant with her butt planted right in the middle of the n. I laughed about the names of the streets in Shelter Harbor. Opera composers – interesting theme. We have a nearby development named for national parks – Grand Teton Avenue, Brice Canyon, Muir Drive, etc. That would be an interesting job for the Clark on the construction management team for the development.
(“…er no clark, I don’t think Thulcandra Avenue or Perelandra Drive rolls off the tongue and besides the signs aren’t big enough…. Have I read Clockwork Orange? well, lets hear some street names!”)
With his typical regard for all things octagonal clark goes whizzing through the residential neighborhood at 40mph!!! Lol…I love your vids…i miss unas camera work though. Fab photo of her!
That wheelbarrow could be a twin to one we used on the farm when I was growing up! Glad to see that your wheelbarrow can still be of use getting a job done.
Thanks for the tour of Shelter Harbor. Years ago I was able to tour the inside of one of the cottages in Newport RI. The rest of the tour was a driving tour. Learning some of the history of the cottages was impressive. To learn that these were but the cottages was a staggering thought.
I need to get caught up on reading Home and Heart. I need to come back sometime during the week and read more of it.
With all your digging, you are certainly getting your exercise during your reclamation project. I was never very good at digging or using a posthole driver. It was very hard work even for a farm girl, and I was glad when my younger brother or my Dad took over.
yeah, I suspect it to be 1970’s hardware store special. all metal. Am familiar with the Newport mansions, such conspicuous consumption… their saving grace (for me) is that I could not imagine deliberately living in one of them lol Shelter Harbor is a bit more down-to-earth. there are a couple of such enclaves/neighborhoods along the coastline. Now that I think of it, your coastline (with the Pacific) is by geology less conducive to small residential developments, no?
I am moving along slower than with ‘Almira’, however, I am still in the get-to-know-the-people stage of the story. The serial nature of it presents advantages and disadvantages, it moves at a slower pace. It is, I suspect, for a different kind of reading-for-fun than modern fiction. Phyllis probably says it best, she “enjoys spending time with the characters (in each chapter)”