Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Doctrine’s contribution to the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
Occurring but once a week, Denise invites all to participate in the exercise and joy of prompt word story-writing.
It’s fun, exciting and deterministic.
This week’s prompt word:
ETERNAL
“Times up! Pencils down, close your test booklets,” the boy in the back-row desk closest-to-the-door watched, as twenty-five arms moved in unison, (twenty-six, he hastily amended, remembering that Ashley, (oh, wonderful Ashley-from-afar), was left-handed), and thought of ‘A Wrinkle in Time’.
The tall, thin man, noting that the other Proprietors had not yet arrived for the monthly board meeting, (‘Bored meeting,’ Tom‘s favorite bon mot when asked to prepare something to ease the tedium of minutes of the twelve-times-a-year gathering), addressed Húnga, “We humans, lacking the extraordinary sense you and your kind enjoy, are, perforce, compelled to invent novel beliefs to hold back the crushing weight of the eternal truth of Time”.
“That includes you, our most-likely-to-recede,” the words reached him a heartbeat before the teacher smiled for reasons of her own as nearly all the other members of the eighth-grade English literature class smiled for reasons not their own; cardboard applause followed as twenty-six textbooks breast-stroked into a stable, open position and the classroom acquired a golden-yellow hue courtesy of the old window shades and the fall semester sun.
“Consider: Time,” the manager continued, as the dog, laying on a quilt covering the dark-brown leather sofa in the Manager’s office, maintained a posture that demonstrated a level of non-judgmental attention available to men and women only until their first birthday.
“For next week’s book report we will read and discuss Madeleine L’Engle’s ‘A Wrinkle in Time’,” an orchestra entirely made-up of conductors, blue Lindy pens kept time with the teacher’s voice; almost immediately she held up a single finger and the classroom of twenty-five students turned like a clockwork puppet show at the source of the only sound in the room, that of a No. 2 pencil on yellow paper, scraped smoothly like a güiro solo, the boy in the back-row desk, closest-to-the-door looked up and said, “What?”
Hearing the other Proprietors arrive in the café beyond his closed doors, the tall, thin man stood, “Well, as always, I’ve loved the time we spend together,” Húnga exposed his teeth in the winning smile of his species; as the two approached the office door, the man paused, “Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me, I should invite all the Proprietors to join the GateKeeper and the Bar Tender on the Livestream this weekend“.*
About clarkscottroger
Rhythm and solo at the same time!
This is some serious fingerstyle playing/writing!!
Damn!!!
And the Bar Tender ….loving it!
👏👏
thanks, Nick
see ya tomorrow*
(When you’re a Jet
You’re the top cat in town
You’re the gold-medal kid
With the heavyweight crown!)
(The Jets are in gear
Our cylinders are clickin!)
*yes!!🙂
lol
aiyee!
I hated musicals when I was young, therefore naturally they remain easily accessible in what is laughingly referred to as my memory
lol
I still hate them!
🤣🤣
I used to hate them too, but have slowly started having a change of heart.
surely that must, in part, be the benefit of patience slowly acquired
More a mix of acquired taste & front row seats to a college adaption of Pride & Prejudice ;)
‘acquired tastes’ that’s an interesting concept and, as a personal quality, i.e. the willingness to do so is very admirable in person
I may not be able to make it at that time for the livestream, but I did watch the previous three episodes. It is good to meet the three of you more or less in person. I am getting a better idea what you mean by “clark”. Is the cafe and bistro a real place? That would be my first question if I do make it.
Not a real, in the sense of physical, touchable (without benefit of a keyboard and an internet connection) place… it’s kinda a meta place.
The key is that it’s description is consistent and enduring, i.e. on a relatively under-utilized city street (in principle there can (and probably are Cafés in a lot of settings rural, suburban and other endurban places but the overall metaphor is always maintained and that would be a common meeting place for people who enjoy writing) the biggest challenge tends to be ‘writing yourself in to the place’.
Although it was originally written with certain people in mind* the appeal is, for some irresistible… Tom comes to mind for not only walking on but establishing ‘his character’
I’ll try to find a single comprehensive description of the Café and add it to this Reply later in the day (unless Nick or Denise beat me to it)
* the Proprietors: Nick and Denise and Mimi and Ford and jenne and Chris
Frank, here is my Six Sentence Cafè & Bistro introduction
https://spirasc.wordpress.com/sscb/
And, feel free to write any questions or ideas of topics or any feedback as a comment at YouTube on replay. And when you will be available we will be more than happy to have you in our live stream company!
Hey, Frank. You know how I refer to the SSS as a community? It’s the sharing of our creative selves and in that process getting to know each other better, not only through our stories, but through the ensuing “conversations” at each other’s blogs.
Remember years ago, in a Wednesday post, I’d invite everyone to the Six by inviting them to come in, grab a table…etc. with a reference to the SSS hop as being writers dropping into a café to hang out, exchange ideas, swap stories? Well, for me, the “brick and mortar” of the Six Sentence Café and Bistro was laid in Clark’s Feb. 9 Six Sentence Story –
https://wakefielddoctrine.com/2022/02/09/six-sentence-story-the-wakefield-doctrine-235/
The rest is history, as they say, lol.
Nick has many Café Sixes captured under a dedicated heading of SSC&B at his blog as does Ford aka “The Supplier” aka Atomic Mage. Mimi, myself, Chris all have multiple Café Sixes. And Tom. He/his character/avatar, is not only featured at the Café, but he’s got a couple of Café Sixes under his belt his own self.
As I conclude this book of a reply, the Six Sentence Café & Bistro is a “fictional, real place”, Frank, where we can write characters in and out of situations and events and storylines, all the while practicing our craft and having a fun time doing it.
So if you’ve got a character or two out for a walk in an unnamed city and they decide to walk down the 3 concrete steps into the Six Sentence Café and Bistro, I say, come on in and let the stories continue!
I
concuryoTime after time, but in the multiverse it runs concurrent, like water over a boulder strewn falls?
where all stories and fiction are born and flourish
As much as i like cats, i do enjoy dogs, they are especially good to have around for conversation (they do converse in their own way). Cats are mostly silent partners.
agree (though we’ve never had cats, but watching other people and their felines)
…it’s often as simple as, when you say something, you can see that they are hearing you*
now, whether they agree or not, that’s another matter lol