Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
A Backyard Attempt to Turn Back Time’
(Landscape Orientation)
The Corn Spiral grows increasingly visible as the surrounding lawn’s colors shift, ever-so-slightly from a uniform green towards the darker end of the spectrum. Without coming out and saying it, the change is the first microscopic signs of the autumn that lurks too-few months in the future. Like an elderly person, full of robust health, stopped by a single cough on a summer day, his future announced by a sound so powerful (and primitive) that it shuns the need to form the noise into intelligible words.
If we see the spiral as a clock, because, in a way, there is nothing more clocklike than an open spiral, Una is moving from twelve down to 9.
Being a dog and having a fundamental (if not formally expressed) understanding of life, she tries to turn back the progression. Her tail extended outwards, legs in a serrated-walking position under her body, it is clear that she is not running, simply moving fast. She knows better. The haste she exhibits is more for our benefit than her own.
This is the TToT (Ten Things of Thankful) bloghop. Kristi is our host. The theme of the ‘hop is gratitude. The twist is that we write, (and share), a list of Ten Items. These Items can be people, places or things that cause us to respond with, feel or otherwise exhibit the signs of experiencing gratitude. In it’s original incarnation, the focus was exclusively on the previous seven days. This convention remains in effect, however, it is considered valid for a list to be achronological* in both structure and content.
And so, this week’s TToT
1) Kristi for wrestling with the inter-wires that allow us all to connect with a minimum difficulty.
2) (My) Work for the challenges and freedom (of schedule) that allows me to write when I the spirit moves me.
3) Una
4) Phyllis
5) ‘Amateur Wordsmiths & After-school Detective Agency’ how does this sound for a title of a YA series?
6) Modern technology that makes this illustration of Item(s) 3 & 4 possible
7) the Wakefield Doctrine for aiding my development, both as a writer and a life form.
8) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE (Anyone out there on the edge, wanting to participate (’cause it looks like fun) but doesn’t yet have a full post (or feel that way), your worries are over (and imaginary). Send in your Grat Items and I’ll set right here at Number 8, just as plain as can be. Go ahead! You know you want to!
9) Sunday Supplement
Since this is a week for wordage (as opposed to photage), lets apply the principles of the Wakefield Doctrine to this week’s musical entertainment. As is the case with everything google, when you search for ‘The Doors’ (in general) and ‘People Are Strange’ (in particular) the result is a ton of stuff, information, opinion, cover versions, mashups and rants about the meaning and significance of the song. A lot (of the results of the search) focus on the ‘experience of the outcast and what it is like to not be included’. If you’re a student of the Doctrine, your first thought is, ‘hey! maybe this is a clark singing here’. Of course you then look at the photos of Mr. Morrison and you’re, “er… probably not.” You search for and find video clips of him and you’re, “yeah…pretty sure not a clark“. The Wakefield Doctrine is nothing if it is not flexible; this extends to how it suggests we apply it’s principles.
Remember the last eye exam you had? (At some point in the process), they said “Does this (click) look better than (click) this? How about (click) this?” And the optimist*** would switch the lens through which you were trying to read the letter pyramid. That is the recommended approach to determining the predominant worldview (‘personality type’) of another person. You start with an understanding of how the three types relate themselves to the world around them and look at something about them, in this case, song lyrics, and compare them, side-by-each. Which one is clearer, more in focus? In practical terms, the first one (of the three worldviews) to be discarded is easy, as in ‘no way!’ Curiously enough, people in the performing arts present more of a challenge, often having a performing persona that is seemingly in contrast to their everyday selfs. Jimi Hendrix comes to mind.
In any event, this Sunday Supplement is growing beyond my intent to discuss the Doctrine. (Spoiler Alert!! Jim is, categorically not a clark.) Will leave the fun of the process to y’all. If you have any questions, comments or observations, we totally welcome ’em.
10) Secret Rule 1.3 (“…the fac[t] of the completion of a list of Ten Items constitutes a valid Item of Thankful ( ‘Et in ipso’ ) and may be, by convention and tradition, be used as the Tenth Thankful (of said List).” ibid. op. cit. Book of Secret Rules (aka Secret Book of Rules) 2013-2018.
* I was pleasantly surprised to find that ‘achronological’ is a ‘real’ word. Kinda. At least it’s listed in wikipedia. Remember Neverland and the Lost Boys? I suspect there are corners of the internet that corresponds to that except it’s populated by clarks (male and female) and chock full of discarded, but interesting, facts and information in cardboard boxes stacked at improbable angles; wikipedia is kinda like that.
Here’s an odd choice for music: (from the Summer of Love**, The Doors)
** for those suffering from excessive BCD1, that was 1967
*** couldn’t resist
1) Birthday Candle Defficiency
About clarkscottroger
FRIST!
Frist fer sure
I was just at the eye doc on Friday. lol. Click and is this better? Click and is that better? LOL. And I think of you EVERY solstice with the change in how long the sun is in the sky. It’s still over 13 hours, but I’m noticing the creeping of darkness on either end of the sunrise and sunset times…I’m sitting here, reminded of how much I enjoy the warmth as I wear a pancho in my mom-in-law’s house as we watch over her…she’s doing some better but has a ways to go. Here’s to health, right?
John and I were having a discussion between the two of us about who is “more clark” (John) and who is “more scott” (me). It’s in light of all the relatives being in town and how they’re relating to one another as we all pitch in to help. It sure is interesting. I think my one sister in law is a clark with high degree roger as a secondary worldview. There’s some scott in there, too. These dynamics are fascinating. I have the Doctrine to thank for it. :)
funny about that light thing, no? I realize that we are less than a sixth of the way down from the hill (of long days) yet there are times when it just looks different. I suspect there is a resonance within all of us to the passing of time, the changing of the seasons.
I’ve been out in the woods almost every day at lunch doing things so that I can sweat. lol
Interesting you should say that as Phyllis and I just recently had a discussion about secondary (and tertiary) aspects. I do agree that you have quite a significant secondary scottian aspect. As do I. Phyllis’ secondary is clarklike, of course.
Given what I have seen of John’s work on the camper he built, I’d be thinking a secondary rogerian aspect. (lol we kid the rogers…about…that obnoxious, pain-in-the-neck thing that they do so well but they account for those precision and well built things that the world cannot do without..and sometimes can (is there any doubt that it was a roger who fashioned the Fabergé eggs that the czars loved to give as gifts)… but also, on a more practical side of things, if one person was responsible for the design and construction of the airliner that you were riding at 35,000 feet above the earth in, which of the three would you want that to be, a clark (couches and a bathroom for ever passenger) a scott (extra large engines to rev and a cockpit window that slid open so the pilot could yell at passing jets) or a roger?. Patience and precision is an attribute that looms large in the worldview of the Herd Member.)
As your secondary scottian aspect does not make you a scott but allows you the extra ‘range’ of interacting and relating to the world and being able to say ‘Hey!’ in a way that is natural, I’m thinking that John has got certain gifts from his secondary aspect.
Both of you guys exhibit how the best of worldviews can combine in a positive manner.
LOL…it took about a month and a half to sell, but John sold the camper. :) Haven’t publicly announced b/c we’re waiting for confirmation, but still…good feelin’ :)
I think you’re right about him having some roger in there. He has a way of dealing with people that’s different than I can and he can charm them when he wants to. Me? I can smile and chatter and after seven minutes, I’m done. Utterly done. Let’s go home. lol
gotta be cool
and that part (again, only saw the camper in photos on the Facebook, but it appears quite well put together). (As opposed to a scott (bent nails, duct tape and flames painted on the side) or a clark (three doors, two secret hatch way and a totally non-traditional form of suspension (’cause, well, maybe this new thing is just as good as that which has proven to be a well-functioning design for the last 100 years).
lol
The “inter-wires” may have scored some points, but I am determined to win the match. :-)
#5: Is there a new book coming?
We all have confidence that you will.
Actually its more of an idea for a writing club. (And being a clark, surely it’s essential to have a good name before creating a club)… lol
Thanks to Kristi and Clark for bringing magic to reality.
Your lists are such fun!
Una in a “serrated-walking position” is a great description.
Thanks for enlarging my vocabulary once again with “achronological” even though spell check took a bit of convincing.
An “After-school Detective Agency” YA series does have some possibilities.
thanks… yeah, I was totally hoping it would turn out to be a real word (not that not being real ever stopped me from using a word) lol