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

This is the Ten Things of Thankful (TToT) bloghop.

From it’s inception in 1997, the TToT ‘hop has invited any and all to contribute blog posts that describe the people, places and things that have caused, elicited from or otherwise, incited one to experience a state, transitory or fleeting, of gratitude. We would say, after nineteen years and counting, it has been a rousing success. If, that is, one’s definition of success* is: ‘To persevere, and in that effort, find novel value in the effort as opposed to the outcome.’

So, for this most clarklike of minor holiday weekends, let’s sim…simp…simplify.

1) Una

2) Phyllis

3) the Wakefield Doctrine

4) serial story writing to wit: ‘the Whitechapel Interlude‘ and ‘the Case of the Missing Fig Leaf‘

5) flash fiction bloghops, the Six Sentence Story

6) completion of the great stump excavation:

Before(ish)

After

7) Double grat (photo at the top of the post): a) P’s application of principles of chemistry in service of removing dreaded (but still cool) coffee stains from my china mug 2) the Hobbomock High coffee mug itself. Which references Grat 8

8) WIP the Hobbomock Chronicles… excerpt here:

Hobbomock
(Current Day)

‘There is surely no more durable strain of human foible than Man’s eternal search for divinity; except, of course, his disappointment when God proves to be all too human.’

Walking down the early-morning-empty sidewalk, Hannah Stephanson came to an abrupt halt. The sudden appearance of words for her latest book’s introduction tugged at her like a dog on a leash approaching the veterinarians office. Blond waves crested to either side of her face as she smiled at her phone, typing the words into her memory. Had there been anyone else on the sidewalk, they would have surely run into her, five-foot ten-inch frame notwithstanding.

“Hey, Miss Stephanson!”

Abigail Neumann waved from one of the benches lining the outer edge of the Town Commons. A trapezoid of green-and-granite, the park was as close to the cultural heart of Hobbomock as anything less than three hundred years old could hope to be. Balanced on the back of the wrought iron bench, her current boyfriend, Jake Williams sat, bare feet on the wood slats on either side the girl. He scowled at the world around him with an intensity available only to suicide bombers and adolescent boys.

Hannah started to wave, remembered the phone in her hand and, instead, nodded her head back; her chin standing in for an acknowledgement of the greeting. Recognizing one as being in her eleventh-grade history class and the other from those weeks she drew detention duty, she called out, “Good morning Abigail!” “Good morning Jacob.”

A glance at her wrist made it clear there was no time to talk. In fact, she was going to be late. Only the August heat convinced her that jogging the two blocks to her real estate office would be in no one’s interest. Especially her own, as she had office hours until noon and was wearing her favorite, if not humidity-friendly, business suit.

‘Hobbomock Homes and Rentals, Inc’ occupied two adjacent units in a block-long granite building facing the Commons. Hannah saw lights on inside the office, indicating that her sometime-co-listing agent, Alexandra Devon, was already there. This meant the coffee would be on, the overnight inquiries for summer rentals dealt with and the chalkboard Daily Inventory, updated.

Hannah liked Alexandra for her energy and believed the other woman appreciated her own attention to detail. During the summer, when Hannah worked full-time, she would help Alex with the paperwork involved in listing properties. For her part, when a summer rental tenant stormed into the office, eager to share his disappointment in the house he’d rented, Alexandra met him at the door. Neither the complaints nor the disgruntled vacationer made it past the small reception area.

Alex Devon’s numerous listings never failed an audit and Hannah Stephanson was able to enjoy time in the office, often working on her next book.

9) something, something

10) Secret Rule 1.3 (shortform: Hey! you’re just about done, that’s great!)

* or, as our friends at the Online Etymology Dictionary cite, by way of examples of usage, succès d’estime

music

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https://youtu.be/snWHvcWsybM

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