The Edge. Still Got the blues for you…a TToT

Gary’s dead. Unusual circumstances notwithstanding, those of my generation will all succomb at some point. Death stands, red brocade rope on either side, hand extended waiting to take our ticket, tear it in half. But the popcorn is free, as is everything at the massive concession stand beyond those red ropes.

Good morning! Hm. I wrote the intro paragraph yesterday morning. What a difference a day makes. Or does it? Do we trick ourselves into thinking “today will be different”? How do we/can we measure, gauge, what I like to call, self-evolution?

Clark, the creator of the Wakefield Doctrine, the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers, and the blog of the same name, hosts the Wakefield Doctrine Saturday Night Drive Call in show. (necessary info is on the Doctrine’s home page.) Cynthia Sageleaf is a frequent caller and last night was no exception. It was an enjoyable call and, as is often the case when Cynthia calls in, the conversation extends well beyond the 8:45 pm “end” time. Last evening, while catching up on the most recent developments and acomplishments in Ms. Sageleaf’s life, we got onto the topic of “change” and “self development”. How does it manifest? When, can we, as the subject take note to it’s effects in our lives, other lives?

You may be scratching your head and thinking, “damn! what stimulating  conversation…not!” lol…and yet, it is! We always have a delightful, engaging, often humorous exchange of life’s observations. Since Clark, Cynthia and myself are clarks, the conversation naturally is centric to how we continue to learn the language and behavoir of the scotts and rogers in our world. As clarks, it is all about understanding. With understanding comes recognition. With recognition comes action. See how that works for a clark?

If you are a clark, no doubt this will resonate with you. If not, remember the basic principle: scotts act, clarks think and rogers feel. What is the Wakefield Doctrine? It is a perspective, it is a tool. It is, for me, indispensible.

Hey Josie! You still there? Order comin’ right up….10 Things of Thankful:

1. the Wakefield Doctrine. For the obvious, but also as the vehicle by which I made Cyndi’s aquaintance when she called in that Saturday night so long ago:)
2. The results show the osteoporosis in my spine can now be considered ostopenia. Break out the streamers and balloons. Good news:D
3. Music. Always a thankful. And not just music but the obvious! the artists who create the magic that provides escape, energy, motiviation, calm, sadness…the emotional engineers in my life.
4. I am thankful for the encouragement I receive to not give up on writing. To not give up on re-learning to play my bass.

5.  So the picture over there from the eclipse is supposed to be on this side of 5. What the hell. Someday, oneday, if I have some more of them, I will work on the whole inserting pictures into a post. The thankful? I’m not embarrassed by my seeming inability to manipulate basic blog features/functions!

6. Second Chance Thrift store run by my local Humane Society.

7.  Rockin’ Rasberry Cheesecake Ice Cream.

8.  So this is going to sound weird but, I’m grateful that I still notice shit. Let’s face it, sometimes, we all kind of rush through the day without taking the time to remind ourselves to slow down, all the while not having a clue of all the cool stuff we missed out on. Observations of people, places, synchronistic events, weather, the hue of a sky, the timbre of light at a precise moment. We lose the sense of being in the moment.

9.  Dammit! Look at the form this post has taken. See! I should have put the picture at the very end. Then I would have a nice centered list with a fanning out at the end. OMG. What an old person I am. Or, is it the lack of patience. Or thinking that I should be doing something else more important. Higher on the scale of “stuff I want to accomplish”, the worrying about a future that doesn’t exist and won’t if I don’t take the damn time to turn off my brain and be in the moment right now. Enjoy it, take care of it and not look so far ahead. Afterall, there may not be a tomorrow. So, be happy with today. Funny, that also was a topic that came up in the call last night. The idea of time. How to better use it, what causes us to lose track of it in the first place and the helpful methods for staying “on track”

10.  Today. Not tomorrow. Today. I will not tire of reminding myself and you, that today is our gift. Let’s not squander it. That doesn’t mean it has to be filled with activity and “doing stuff”. It simply means we should engage and participate in “the moments that make up a dull day”.

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Reaching the Edge, it’s a Six Sentence Story

OK, the rules say it’s not too late! It’s Thursday night, 8:37 pm and, while I could post tomorrow, it would seem anti-climatic if I did. It’s opening day after all! Thank you Ms. Zoe! for hosting this weekly bloghop, on this, Six Sentence Thursday.

Every week our estimable hostess reveals for us the “word of the week”. This week’s challenge word? Border. Use it however you wish just as long as your contribution is no longer, no shorter than 6 sentences.

Now, without further adieu (pun intended!)….

Bordering on the edge of insanity, Sr. Cedric decided today was the day her first grade students would either behave or suffer the consequences.

Her efforts to control her young charges appeared to have little to no residual effect as they were as rambunctious and noisy, unrepentant and precocious as ever!

Not one child believed her when she told them she was leaving until she instructed Peter Miller to pull the window shades halfway and then open a couple of the transom windows; then… it started sinking in.

The short, somewhat stout nun calmly walked the width of the classroom toward and out the door turning off the lights as she left, closing the door softly behind her.

As the shock began to wear off and the reality that our teacher had just abandoned us set in, many of us began crying as we realized this was the real deal, Sr. Cedric left, she was gone.

And then.. the sound of the principal’s voice sounded over the loudspeaker…

Even at the Edge, there’s a TToT

Welcome to GirlieOnTheEdge. I am your hostess, Girlie. As is my prediliction as a clark, I find myself in “transition”. Self induced. My body’s own reaction to…life. In it’s present form. We, the perenial journeymen (and women!) struggle always to find our way, our place in the world around us. LOL. Now if that doesn’t resonate, you know you’re not a clark 🙂

New readers, I speak of the Wakefield Doctrine, aka the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers. clarks, do yourself a favor and click on the Doctrine link. No thanks necessary. scotts, rogers? Please do the same. I will not be offended if you come back here and ask me, what for (rogers). I would be doing newcomers a disservice if I did not mention that there are scotts and rogers with a strong secondary clarklike aspect who will also find the Wakefield Doctrine….curious and helpful. Enjoy. All of  you.

I offer today, a 10 Things of Thankful post. In the tradition begun by it’s orginator Lizzi O’Ryan, née Lewis, and now presented under the administration of one Josie Two Shoes, I offer these 10 thankfuls.

1.  Thunderstorms. And the new sense of comfort I feel listening to them.

2.  the Wakefield Doctrine. (goes without saying, but doesn’t hurt to acknowledge)

3. Libraries.

4. Serendipity. While at the local library, I picked up a summer events calendar. Perusing the free upcoming concerts, I noticed this name, Eilen Jewell. I never heard of her until now. I will be going to the show on August 24th 😀

5. Discovering new music.

6. For sunshine after the rain. Here, I can’t help myself lol

7. New post at the Rag, the Secessionist Rag. Yep, the progenitor roger has re-emerged.

8. other clarks.

9. Speaking of! A clark with a wellspring of incredible writing projects, Claire Perez Ekman, has just published A New Season Revisited. Now available in paperback. Congratulations Claire!

10. Today. My only day. A day I began with a very particular schedule in mind and which has been altered tres drastically. The special thanks is my ability to accept and adapt and embrace nonetheless. Embrace people. Embrace.

Anda 1uh, anda 2uh…it’s a 6uh Sentence Story!

Teetering onthe Edge, I bi-bid you greetings. It’s the waning of an absolutely gorgeous late afternoon turned early evening, this Tuesday (but now it’s Thursday night! aack! what the heck you been doin’ for 2 days?!). I did not take a walk. Nope. Despite the sales job I gave myself, the admonishments, the reminders of what might be, what if and still…I could not drag myself out of doors to walk. (but I did walk last night. yay!)

But hey! How you doin’?! Ready for this here Six Sentence Story bloghop?? Excellent! Zoe, our hostess bar none, has graciously given us the word of the week. Scratch. Amazing, isn’t it that I’m actually writing this 2 days in advance? Yes, way! (uh, duh, it’s now Thursday night and you’re late, Girlie!)

fingers bloodied, tips shredded like finely grated mozzarella, I crawled through unevenly shaped shards of glass, colored like the sea glass I searched for as a young girl walking salted, shoreline sands, hopeful ocean tides would deliver me the rare, sought after treasure.

eyes focused, as gray as the slate upon which I found myself sprawled, I set my gaze on the small pinhole of daylight in the distance and imagined my escape.

my life depended on scratching and clawing my way out of this once secret, underground chamber, extricating myself from the lichen coated wreckage of the mighty structure before they returned to retrieve the dead.

only one person could orchestrate this kind of mayhem on this scale in this kind of town and no one, not the Almighty himself would dare challenge his intent or motive as this was the outcome he pursued from the beginning.

plant the seed of doubt, of discension and then let loose a tirade of destructive rhetoric, the rest will take care of it themselves as not one individual stood up when it mattered to question why.

roy wasn’t delusional when he described the patriarch of his newly found family…

 

 

Thankful. Each. Successive Day. TToT Time.

24 hrs. I did not open the laptop since yesterday morning early. Wasn’t in me. I was am, in escape mode. (hey Lizzi! you know what I’m talkin’ about). And so, you might say I’ve got some hypo gratitudes amidst the self-indulgence (or is it more a restorative process?). Do they need to be named or identified? Naah. To do so gives them more life than they deserve. Let them starve. We’re all gathered here today (and the rest of the weekend) to enjoy the offerings of those writers who participte in the weekly hop known across time as The Ten Things of Thankful. Originally created and hosted by our friend, in the truest sense of the word, Lizzi Lewis,  its stewardship has more recently been under that of the famous wordsmithstress Josie Two Shoes. Thank you Josie for transitioning this hop.

You know, I don’t go on the FB much anymore. Every day or 2 or 3 I’ll open ‘er up. I was thinking of Michelle Liew last week. Was it fortuitous that this morning was one of those days I went on the FB? Oh yeah. Because today is Michelle’s birthday, even though her day is practically over at this writing (she lives in the future you know lol). Which is the roundabout way I came upon the reprint below. It came up in my FB feed in one of those ‘hey, look what you used to do” taunts. (no, really. not in one of those moods)

Today is about the thankfuls. The reprint? It represent all kinds of TFs. The least of which is an example of writing as if I didn’t have a care in the world, which in 2012, I surely did. And yet, it shows me that it is within my power to excel in spite of circumstance. It reminds me that all is relative. It reminds me that I am more than I could have thought I was.

Life. Music. Creativity. Choice. Good health. Friendship. Love. Family. Safety. Technology. Enjoy the vintage Girlie. I included the comments because, well, they still make me smile.

Edge remnants and such…

ON MAY 20, 2012 BY GIRLIEONTHEEDGEIN GIRLIEONTHEEDGE, PERSONAL, THE WAKEFIELD DOCTRINE

I have a coupla posts about the Cat.  So what?  Of mice and men, cats and magic….there but for the grace of the Cat go I.  Timelines?  Did someone mention timelines? What?  That was “timeframe”?  I see.

I’m thinkin’ I have one more post about the Cat here.  I mean, who doesn’t have a “Trilogy”?  Back to the Future, The Matrix…The Godfather.  Besides, you know what they say about trilogies.  OK, the number 3 at least…. “it happens in 3’s, they go in 3’s, 3rd times a charm”, etc.

All of us can easily conjure up on the giant screen inside our brains, famous movie  trilogies. Or recollect fondly? from our formative years the various religious references involving trilogies -Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Taoist Trilogy, the theory of clarks, scotts, rogers.…  Aren’t there 3 major food groups?  And what about the I, IV, V?  Huh? Huh?!  Triads, whether they be religious, criminal, physical or musical in nature, are significant.

Life is a triad. Can we call it a Trilogy?  There are 3 “events”: we’re born, have a “life” and  we die.  3 components that are linked and intertwined, in my humble opinion, in an Escher kind of way.  There is no starting point A that immediately and linearly produces the B that ends with the flatline C.  As a clarklike female, I prefer to think of life more like a Mobius strip and my existence as simple “configuration space”.   I know what you’re thinkin’ about now….”any minute Girlie’s gonna go off on a Pythagorean rant with a side dish of discourse regarding the importance of adhering to proper Euclidian etiquette when in the company of  well to do, hypontenustic people. LOL

……don’t worry.  I’m better now.  Sometimes when we freefloat, ponder the past, search the present or plan for the future we find ourselves veering off into all sorts of uncharted territory – landscapes morphed by memory, the litter of lingering feelings strewn along the roadsides… it’s easy to miss the paw prints.  But if we are lucky, like little Jamaal, we’ll have a shoulder upon which to perch for however brief the moment, and the world will open up again to life lessons and the Cat….

9 thoughts on “Edge remnants and such…”

1. clarkscottroger

   Need I point out that the biped in your photo is dressed in a cat.5 Tee Shirt? Sort of a Piltdown of Doctrine Fashion

   Like

   MAY 20, 2012 AT 1:17 PMREPLY
   1. GirlieOnTheEdge

      Indeed he is. Astute eye sir!
      I myself am in possession of a cat.5 tee shirt. It would be considered vintage today. It is still wearable and dare I say still in fashion. It resides in a drawer directly underneath my new Wakefield Doctrine tee shirt. And what a coincidence! Both are of a black and white design. (sigh)

      Like

      MAY 20, 2012 AT 2:12 PMREPLY
2. Jennifer Wilson

   OK. I’ll bite. What the hell is a cat.5 tee shirt?

   Like

   MAY 24, 2012 AT 6:18 PMREPLY
   1. GirlieOnTheEdge

      Well my dear. Glad you asked and in the absence of Clark and Roger and even the Lunchbox, I shall respond to your query. They, of course, are always welcome to supplimentate. (my homage to rogerian expressions today. lol)
      The shirts were commissioned in honor, in deference to the feline, Arthur…deistically known as “the Cat”.
      Gentlemen? Anything to add?

      Like

      MAY 24, 2012 AT 6:46 PMREPLY
3. clarkscottroger

   FUCK!!! KA! KA! *

   (*standing in for Lunchbox Lennie)

   lol

   The expression at the time was, ‘he was a cat and a half’, which was to pay homage to the feline form of ‘Arthur’ the cat pictured in these last few Posts.

   Just a little more lingusitic silliness from those mental institution outmates down at Treasure Rd!!

   (linguistics YEAH I got ya lingustics!!! )

   .
   FUCK!

   Like

   MAY 25, 2012 AT 9:40 AMREPLY
   1. GirlieOnTheEdge

      The ‘Box would be proud, no? LOL
      Yo Roger! Where the hell are ya buddy? Need some help around here….we be called “mental institution outmates”!

      Like

      MAY 25, 2012 AT 10:45 AMREPLY
4. RCoyne

   There is no ‘in’ or ‘out’ for the mentally hamstrung. It is a frame of existence that you bring with you everywhere, and a damned good thing too. How tedious this would all be without an alternate reality or two in your back pocket.

   Like

   MAY 26, 2012 AT 7:03 PMREPLY
   1. GirlieOnTheEdge

      Couldn’t have said it better:)

      Like

      MAY 27, 2012 AT 8:23 AMREPLY
5. clarkscottroger

   … I could have.

   …
   lol

   Like

   MAY 27, 2012 AT 8:44 AM

Yeah, put ’em Here at the Edge. All 6 Sentences.

So.  You may or may not have a writing process. I used to. I think. Or maybe I had a special time to write. Yeah, that rings a bell. Any-who, it’s 7:50 pm this Thursday evening, the 1st day of the 6 Sentence Story Bloghop hosted by the wonderful Ivy Walker. Whatsay we begin by giving Ms. Walker a rousing round of applause. She’s still hostessing strong and this week she has certainly challenged me with the word cue of the week: “TAP”. Use this word in any of it’s definitions, acronyms, you name it as long as there are 6 sentences with this cue word appearing somewhere among them, you’re golden.

She faltered in front of the non descript, narrow shelving, standing with the weight of her indecision resting  squarely, if not fully, in her left leg.

Why was this so difficult? No one needs to translate the label, no interpreter is needed to describe what her own eyes were clearly seeing but maybe that was the problem, the choices.

There’s always the option to turn around and return to the reliable, steadfast staples, the tried and true familiar, surrounding us, embracing us, day after day.

What were these breadlike “things”, these baked goods with the odd names? Look at this one, surely a misspelling, as no one, on purpose, would use that many “a”s in the spelling of a name?!

At the first tap of my foot on the industrial tiled floor of the tired supermarket, I reached for the bag that read “Guaaaracha” and thought, why not, misspelling or not, the oddly shaped, squared off ovals of breadlike bread appeared to have a light coating of sugar atop them.

The pavlovian response was unmistakable, certain to overpower last minute indecision fortified by a latent fear of the unknown, my path now leading me to checkout…

Lessons, Learning, Peeking Around the Edge

Sunday. Morning. Been up for a coupla hours. Morning has always been a treasure left undiscovered. Eagerly anticipated as it was the one part of the day I could completely indulge. The space between each line uncharted territory beckoning to be discovered/revealed.  When did it stop being the most enjoyable part of my day? When did sitting comfortably, pad and pen in hand, (replaced now with white screen and keyboard) cease to be that solitary walk along the deserted beach, scoping tide washed sand for shells and sea glass and driftwood?

Who do I have to thank for sitting me down, right now and asking? Christina Perri? Pinterest for sending me links that might interest me? That Pinterest shared with me GirlieOnTheEdge’s post “Of Metal and Mayhem” from 2 years ago featuring Ms. Perri singing “Jar of Hearts” is no coincidence (actually it is but let’s roll with it). Whatever the cue that illicits emotional content, I believe I owe it to myself to follow the trail. Cueing the song for the 4th time, chorus now indelibly etched into my brain for the day.

Reminders. How important are they? Very, yes? Of course. Without them we might miss that important drs. appointment or job interview or teacher parent meeting. Daily reminders. We all need them. I don’t want to talk about those reminders though. I want to explore the “holyshitIforgotabouttheohyeah,can’tbelieveIforgotIcouldIforget” reminders. Life shit. Get where I’m going? Inside of your head, reflective, self assessing, time to review, pull down the shade, find a comfy chair and…review. Remember. Remember the stuff you told yourself not to forget.

As on most Saturday nights, I call into the Wakefield Doctrine Saturday Night Call in Show. Typically, especially these last couple of years, it’s Clark (your host), myself and more recently and consistenly, Cynthia. Now wait a darn minute! Nuh, huh…it is too very enjoyable and humorfilled and….informative.  When it’s only us clarks, there is much identification going on, many reveals and “aha’s” and in general “no shits!” and yes, it can be a wild time lol. Who says a three way conversation among clarks is boring. It’s not always about the Doctrine ya know. Well, actually how can it not be?

As I suspected, I’ve veered a bit off course. Retrospection, if done properly can be a valuable tool. Recollection without the indulgence of feeling bad, can be a valuable tool. Remembering to remember can be a valuable tool. Thanks to Clark last night, I remembered some things that naturally I’d forgotten. Funny, I made a comment about being in denial (the usual life shit, where am I, what am I, why, why not) and Clark pointed out that when an individual is in a state of denial, they are not consciously aware they’re in denial. Example? If someone sees white, when it is black. They see only white. They do not know it is black because for that person, it is white. So how much of what I see or don’t see has it’s roots embedded in denial? How can I know I’m in a state of denial? Does that imply someone, other than myself, should be telling me how it really is? How’s that for a big ole can of squirming, radioactive worms?! LOL

I’m fairly certain I’ve lost most folks. In fact, I may have even lost the clarks! It’s a rambling, self indulgent kinda day today – it’s a reminder today. To look so that I can see without prejudice, that which is in front of me, surrounding me. What is it I refuse to see? Cannot recognize? When will I know, how can I know those times I’m in denial? Can I rescue my own self? Gee, thank you brother. You’ve always got my back 😀

One of my favorite TV characters, a clark, was all about finding the truth. He insisted the “truth was out there”.  Am I ready for the truth? I know this clip will totally resonate with my people. Here’s to a TToT weekend for yes, this is a TToT post. The thankfuls? They’re out there. Just have to find them.