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Tuesday -the Wakefield Doctrine-

October 6, 2026 By clarkscottroger 12 Comments

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

Part Tue in our impromptu series, ‘How Real is Personal Reality, Really?”

We once came up with a scenario involving a clark, a scott and roger that, grounded in the ‘real’ world, served as an illustration of what we mean by personal reality.

Can’t find it among posts in the archives.

Guess we’re just gonna have to write it again.

(Yeah, who was that who muttered, “Good Luck Finding the Original Author”? Extra credit to that Reader! But that’s an entirely different post)

Picture a large town/small city. Large enough for sidewalks and fire hydrants but small enough for there not being a classroom science film strip: Blood, your body’s superhighway’… moderate traffic with maybe 30 percent available parking on the street where our scene takes place.

Our three Illustratinum* are standing on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street from a restaurant. The restaurant is part of a city block, meaning no parking lot in front of it, simply a row of large, plate glass windows in the wall that runs along the sidewalk. Until, that is, the last third of the facade. The entrance is set back from the sidewalk, creating something of an alcove. There is a line of people waiting to get in. From where the next-to-enter patron is standing (the line’s final order created by stanchions with red velvet ropes strung between), it continues along the sidewalk at least twenty-three people in length. Some of the people are reading the Day’s Menu, (pasted to the inside of one of the plate glass windows), others are talking and a handful are simply waiting for the social peristalsis to bring them to their desired goal. Lunch in a popular restaurant.

Our MCs: a clark (Outsider), a scott (Predator) and a roger (Herd Member) are standing, shoulder-to-shoulder, facing the restaurant and the line of would-be diners.

All of this is to set up the question (the answer being the proof) of ‘What is Personal Reality and Is It (really) Real?’

Certain presumptions about our scene: all three agreed to meet for lunch, the choice of restaurant and the time.***

The question, based on a good understanding of the three predominant worldviews (aka personality types) of the Wakefield Doctrine:

what is the clark thinking
what does the scott want to do
how does the roger feel about everything (starting with the long line)

One hint:

clarks be thinking, ‘Shit.. any chance to get these two jamokes to accept Burger King as a substitute venue, if not, how about arranging for the fire alarm to be tripped’
scotts is way, way smiling at the prospect of a hunt (think wildebeest, gazelle and flock of overweight chickens having a convention), zeroing in on the weakest (read:uncertain and hopeful) person among those on the sidewalk for the first attempt cut in line
rogers beaming, Life is surely good and his/her role here and now as the center of most wonderful, spontaneous Herd is assured, can’t wait to share the joy with all the people who turned out for his/her arrival

There ya go!

*faux¹ Latin for the three characters who represent the principle being illustrated

1) French for ‘come on! you can get it from the context’, Readers!**

**credit for the line goes to the writers of ‘The Good Place’ Tahani to the group about some British idiom

*** total extra credit to any thought balloons rising focused on ‘agreed’? ‘choice’? and ‘time’? lol

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: relationships, the Wakefield Doctrine, three personality types, Understanding Human Behavior

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

September 26, 2026 By clarkscottroger 15 Comments

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

This is the Wakefield Doctrine’s weekly contribution to the Ten Things of Thankful (TToT) bloghop.

An exercise in the cultivation, (and appreciation), of gratitude, this bloghop in no way associates it’s goals, ambitions… it’s very raison d’être (yum, yum!) with the painting above. (See Grat #7)

So, for anyone out there enjoying these TToTs as a Reader but are reticent to actually writing and posting your own list because, you know, ‘I don’t think I can come up with things from the last week.’ Well, perish the thought!**’ The bottom line for things qualifying as items making up a TToT list is that it/they are people. places, things, events that have inspired you to say, ‘I’m glad that happened’ (equally valid, if not Advanced TToT listing: “I’m glad that didn’t happen!”) if unsure of this special category of grats (known as ‘hypo-grats’) don’t hesitate to check with Mimi.

For the Doctrine our TToT list this week:

1) Phyllis

2) Una

3) the Wakefield Doctrine

4) the Six Sentence Story bloghop

5) fun with weather! A good, old-fashioned Nor’easter this weekend. While hoping no one suffers harm, (from the storm), it, (this type of storm), is totally the fabric of life growing up on the Vineyard. So… and this, as a topic, is way beyond the scope and context of a grat ‘hop and surely out of my wheelhouse for writing skills. But, you know. like they say, ‘A grat’s a grat’.

6) On a walk to the pond, a sound from above leads to an encounter with an unlikely (and large) bird.

7) the internet, (may it rest in peace), and the increasingly rare capacity it retains to provide ‘A library in your keyboard’. The painting at the top of the post is ‘L’Angélus‘ byJean-François Millet. Full Disclosure: am not ‘an art guy’ (sure Escher had a place in our dorm room but, like, whose didn’t?) We are even capable of naming painters that we like, (for at least one pitcher), for example Winslow Homer (Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) and… our total fave Edward Hopper (Nighthawks) of course… btw? total clark. And, god knows, over the years of this blog we’ve never been shy about searching for cool images for our posts. (Sorry! ‘Collating a variety of images for LLM training’ lol). But this image, the Millet, is way TAT-ish in the ‘really?!?’ a mere farm scene? Bonus grat: our first reaction to the painting was, ‘What dark sin lies in the furrow?’ And…and!!! Dali concurs!! (the link to the painting)

8) something, something

9) the red boat in the video? upon closer examin’ it is a child’s toy (‘toy boat…toy boat…toy boat‘ lol) all Hesperus wreck’d against the banks of lonely rural pond

10) Secret Rule 1.3

music

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: relationships, self-development, the Wakefield Doctrine

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

September 19, 2026 By clarkscottroger 14 Comments

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

This is the Wakefield Doctrine’s contribution/participation in the Ten Things of Thankful (TToT) bloghop.

(A) list of the people, places, things and events that have incited, instigated and otherwise inspired us to accept what is arguably a higher state of consciousness.

ya know?

As curator of the Wakefield Doctrine we submit the following people/animals, places, things and events(fictional and otherwise):

1) Phyllis

2) Una

3) the Wakefield Doctrine

4) the Six Sentence Story bloghop

5) that photo at the top of the post? the side meadow bowing to the change of (the) Seasons

6) the Hostinae and Hosts: hey! not only do they contribute insightful and engaging lists (of Thankfuls), they do so with total disregard for conformity to a set standard of presentation. It’s inconceivable! (lol) Examples (by no means exhaustive, but a sampling) from Andrew with his trips and vegetation-photation, to Misky’s beautifully crafted layouts to Frank’s curiously-poetic groupings of photos as a ten-spoke gratitude umbrella, and… cai well, like, damn! that’s how you ‘write as the spirit moves you’. And of course, KnitCat and Denise, Dyanne and Kristi, Lisa and our very own bean feasa, Mimi

7) Another visit from our friendly Lynx Rufus

8) something, something

9) ok, despite, (or as some wags might opine, because of) Grat #6 here’s a photo-time-travel-story(ish). We’re providing a set-up because it might be difficult to see the (current) gourde on the top railing and, for that matter, the new, growing one on the ground. Now that I’ve stepped all over my lead, the Photo. (oh yeah, the plot! last year Phyllis had some painting gourds on the railing (well, ’cause she’s from X-Chromia)… well it was left there and eventually fell to the ground… fast-forward to this week! kinda cool

10) Secret Rule 1.3

music

* got Joe Jackson in my head from the first vid…for the benefit of those who are not familiar with the previous song, here is one you will be (provided you are of a sufficiently hypo-youthful status (yeah, looking at you Andrew)

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: clarkscottroger, personality types, relationships, the Wakefield Doctrine

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

September 12, 2026 By clarkscottroger 13 Comments

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

Special Edition TToT!

Well, yeah, now that you mention it, that does raise the spectre of an inescapable infinite regression, gratitudinously-speaking. oh well.

This is still the Ten Things of Thankful (TToT) bloghop. Founded in 1823 by a charwoman’s daughter. As a young person, our creatrix found herself stifled by the incoherent dialect of the King’s English spoken in the local school where she grew up, in East Ham-on-Rye, in County Lingerie, England. And so, she began to write a list of the things that she was grateful for and the rest is history. (Well, technically, if this description is immersive enough, the rest would become the future.)

(whew! Caffeine! You are truly a loving and terrible god!)

All are welcome to contribute their own list of the people, places, things and event that incite a state of gratitude when first apprehended.

For the Wakefield Doctrine, we offer:

1) Phyllis

2) Una

3) Mimi for providing the idea: Show Us Your Bookcases! (as a Grat)

4) the Wakefield Doctrine

5) (Establishing shot) as mentioned in last week’s grat, our bookcases have left the living room and taken up residence in the laundry/utility room. So the first thing you see is:

6) Second Shelf right end

7) the Six Sentence Story bloghop

8) Ayiiee! (future dodged-bullet Grat!) Phyllis’ cottage has book shelves (and less hex wrenches, duct tape and round televisions) so we offer ‘The Bookcases of the Forest”

Cottage bookcases:

Second shelf right end:

9) Once upon something, something

10) Secret Rule 1.3

music

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: relationships, self-development, the Wakefield Doctrine, three personality types

Friday -the Wakefield Doctrine-

September 11, 2026 By clarkscottroger 7 Comments

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

Quick reminder!

If you’ve been thinking about joining us at the TToT bloghop, this weekend (aka doors are now open) is the perfect jumping-in point.

(No, clarks, we’re not gonna ‘splain what the TToT is. You know. Even if you haven’t been told. Hey, you know the problem with clarks? You accept that it is your gift (aka nature of your predominant worldview) to naturally know all manner of stuff. Thing is, as soon as there are others involved and your knowledge is subject to scrutiny, you play the safe move. Until you see external validation. Of course, we know why that is. And, given the tenor of this intro, we’re going to go ahead and surpass on stating the reason. ha ha, Yeah, that last? a reference to the ‘original rogerian expression‘.)

(ok, but we’re still not going to hand you the crutch of validation… so the progenitor roger in the Before time had a wife who was attending college. And one weekend she had an opportunity to throw a dinner party and invite some of her professors. Important to her to make an impression. Advance her career. (good call, she was a scott) (male rogers are total lay-downs for scottian females, but we digress) anyway the evening went well and according to plan. our (progenitor) played it low-key… until dinner. In the middle of eatery, one of the tenured caught our protagonist staring at a dish and said, ‘Would you like some of these excellent mashed potatoes?’ to which our roger replied, “No thanks! I think I’ll surpass on that.”)

(rogerian expression; a misuse, misspoken use of a word as a form of aggression. it is not quite the correct word, but it is delivered with a sense of ‘Here… try this’ No self-consciousness (arguably a heightened awareness of the reaction of his/her audience), there is a waiting, expectant demeanor… they know it’s incorrect… hell they’re counting on it being so, perfectly skewed, as to cause a reaction. An emotional response. (rogers live in the reality of emotion). you know, as if an angler fish took a moment to paint its signature physical feature polka dots and sequins, before swimming into view…)

(ed. a real rogerian expression always results in am explosive laugh-response… in no small part due to the out of nowhere surprise combined with the fact the word employed is close enough to leave no question it was, somehow, a deliberate choice.)

enough about Herd Members!

This weekend at the TToT: Show us your books Weekend. All are invited to include, (in their TToTs), a photo of their bookcases. More specifically, the right-hand end of the second shelf (of said bookcase).

have fun

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: clarkscottroger, relationships, the Wakefield Doctrine