Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

1)  Above. The corn that would be king (or queen). (Going for the royalty allusion due to the semi-purple color of the ‘corn hair’.)

2) Una

3) Phyllis (and Una)

(If you look at just the right angle (or frame of mind), clearly Una is holding the leash and, at the moment the photo is taken, gently tugging in order to make sure her human, engrossed in reading the newspaper, stays on track down the driveway.)

4) How well-trained are the plants in Phyllis’ garden?

“See the two tendrils of squash heading towards the deck (and the door into the house), one of their kind, a fleet-rooted scout, is growing up from under the deck, the better to aid the final broaching of the glass and wood barriers.”

5) Our Host, Kristi for doing the hard work that allows this bloghop to float in the ‘sphere every weekend, available to one and all, even those who would play loose with the rules and stick Grat Items ever which way. I mean, seriously, mentioning the host and, in fact, the origin of the Ten Things of Thankful bloghop surely belongs at the top of the list, as an introduction to the post, at very least. Here we are, at Number 5, surely a contrast to all the other well-thought-out, engaging and orderly posts from the more considerate and, dare I say it, mature participant’s contributions at this here bloghop here.

6) Over at the Writers Club we have a serial story running, ‘Interlude’. It’s a story of a real estate broker who hits his head in the basement of a rained-out Open House and when he comes to, hears the sounds of all sorts of people in the house above. Stepping out of the basement into the kitchen, he notices two things: a) not only is it not pouring rain, the sun is brightly shining and 2) a young woman, addressing him as ‘Michael’, is quite concerned with the blood running down the side of his face. I bring this up because tomorrow …I have another Open House scheduled! (If you don’t see me around, check with any older relatives who might have lived on the shoreline during the summer of 1967 and insist, ‘...tell us about Michael’.)

7) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE Any one standing on the Precipice of Publish, the cool air floating up from the bottomless pit of self-consciousness tickling the undersides of toes wavering on the edge, only the heels of both feet preventing the fulcrum from becoming a down ramp into the unknown; this space is your chance to get out there without being totally exposed. Like on the old variety shows on TV, back in the day; there were ‘half-length’ segments, usually before the commercial that marked the halfway point that were reserved for …well, for people like us! At this point in this post, whoever is still reading will be looking down and wondering if they remember the video music. The important thing is that you will have ‘Published’. The rest is easy, easier, easiest.*

8) Sunday Supplement

‘Of thistles and weeds’  It is a given that we will encourage to grow pretty much anything that takes a stand (in the lawn or garden or what-have-you). The thistle, formerly of the backyard, seems to have found a more nurturing location in the middle of the side lawn. And the other plant, the catcher’s-mitt-asparagai**, also seems to be liking the location. Tough and ugly, respectively. Gotta admire ’em.

9) the Wakefield Doctrine because it is a fun and useful tool in the form of an alternate perspective on the world and the people in it. Applying the principles of the Wakefield Doctrine accounts for this entry, this post, this blog and this particular point (among infinity-minus one points) along the continuum. ya know? (That and enjoying music from the 70’s that, at the time, I would turned my nose up at. (Surely a commentary on either a) the faculties of said nose, then versus now or 2) the music wasn’t that bad and now, eq’d down the bandwidth by at least 7 dB overall especially in the 20 to 40 Hz range. I believe I like it.

10) Secret Rule 1.3 [Chapter One Section Three, ‘the completion (or, anticipated completion) of a list of Ten Things, does comprise an Item (and therefore a ‘Thing’) for which one might legitimately be {and subsequently cite} grateful for and, as such, may be included in a Ten Things of Thankful list.“]

* attribution: that little joke? everything will be ‘easy, easier, easiest’? Totally lifted from one of my favorite science fiction writers, Robert Scheckley.  There was a line, in a scene in a novel that I read, had to have been in the early 70s, don’t remember the title of the book, but the line was (one character was hypnotizing another, why I couldn’t tell you), “You are getting sleepy… sleepier….sleepiest”  I still laugh at that line. But then again, it was the 1970s

** probably not it’s ‘real’ botanical designation, but sounds good