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learning while reading and reflecting, and Chapter 4,
“Establishing Readiness for Practice,” invites learning
by doing—whether individually, in pairs, or in groups.
Chapter 1 The Mindfulness That Empowers Crafts
The rationale chapter. Discussion within this chapter
touches first on lessons drawn from instances of mind-
less practice. In contrast, mindfulness in occupational
therapy emerges as an attentive and careful engagement
in understanding, activity analysis, and synthesis. The
understanding needs to be deep, the analysis logical,
and the synthesis imaginative so that these functions
can together help practitioners humanize daily prac-
tice, set a scope and direction for sound therapy, and
show clients that they care. Throughout the chapter,
interactive features, historical highlights, and practice
stories elaborate the mindfulness of these functions.
Best practice reaches past the hands of clients—the
purpose of therapy—to engage their hearts—the mean-
ingfulness that clients seek. Basic to such practice is
a process of “really getting” the profession’s guiding
beliefs and then enacting principles from holistic and
client-centered models. The PEO model, with its call for
goodness of fit, and the recovery model, with its press
for empowerment, inform the logic of our analysis and
fuel the imagination in our synthesis, turning crafts
into best practice occupational therapy.
This chapter’s discussion culminates in a step-by-
step analysis of one craft within a well-considered
intervention. To assure deep understanding, readers
engage in a parallel analysis of a second craft interven-
tion, attending to the 12 points of consideration that
structure the guidelines in this book. The authors’ views
of both analyses yield helpful feedback. Following the
analyses, readers engage in an introduction to imagina-
tive synthesis, with author feedback.
Chapter 2 Making Craftwork Therapeutic
The intervention chapter. Discussion within this
chapter turns to how imaginative synthesis “works,”
how practitioners connect with the client and make
modifications to fit each person uniquely. Elaboration of
therapeutic measures occurs within practice scenarios
that illustrate (1) therapeutic use of self; (2) goodness
of fit among clients, environments, and crafts; and (3)
positive shifts toward health. Concrete examples, inter-
active features, and helpful hints move discussion of the
PEO and recovery models from theoretical principles
to practical applications.
A practitioner’s use of self can reflect many therapeu-
tic intentions. Resources in this chapter apply constructs
from the Intentional Relationship Model to show how
using the self can “work” during crafts. When making
Preface vii
a good PEO fit among client, craft environment, and
craftwork, practitioners make modifications related
to the physical environment, social environment, and
contextual influences surrounding a client’s views.
Numerous examples, whether related to lighting, guests
in the treatment room, or gender differences, illustrate
these adjustments.
Modifications also occur because of client challenges
in motor, process, or social interactional skills, as well
as to emotional and sensory functions. Practitioners
modify or grade craft demands to make them more
challenging for skill development or less difficult to
enable performance. Casework, practice examples,
and appendices featuring physical and mental health
conditions elaborate purposeful grading and its effects
on outcomes.
When engaged in individualized craft interventions,
clients make positive shifts in health, becoming craft-
ers with choice while occupied in productive work.
Mindful crafts can enhance such outcomes in most
group types through a process of therapeutic framing,
crafting, and meaning making, which are well detailed
in this chapter. A comprehensive checklist for leading
mindful craft sessions concludes this discussion.
Chapter 3 Making Craftwork Feasible
The pragmatics chapter. Discussion within this chapter
targets practical matters associated with using crafts to
include opposing attitudes, administrative challenges,
and constraints in resources such as supplies, space,
and time. Practitioners successful in implementing
craftwork adopt and promote mindsets that foster
openness and creativity. They engage in cognitive,
interpersonal, and marketing strategies that support
craft programs. Numerous examples of these strategies
appear in this chapter.
Practitioners of crafts gain administrative support.
They enact mindful approaches to honoring the institu-
tion’s culture, sharing evidence about crafts, securing
reimbursement, and respecting financial constraints.
For each approach discussed, readers will find examples:
a strategy for writing proposals aligned with mission
statements, a craft-based documentation process for
writing goals and recording progress, an excerpt from
a letter of appeal, a sample of a budget for supplies,
a listing of low-cost materials and free discards, and
ideas for organizing and improvising work spaces and
storage. Management of time constraints includes a
process for minimizing or dividing mindful crafts to
accommodate 15- to 20-minute sessions. A starter kit
of crafts that use only coloring or collage may appeal
to those starting from scratch. Because of this chapter’s
viii Preface
aims, all points of discussion or interaction help make
crafts do-able.
Chapter 4 Establishing Readiness for Practice
The application chapter. This chapter offers in three
parts opportunities to practice logical activity analysis
and imaginative synthesis that includes therapeutic
modifications. This chapter shows how purpose and
meaning can come together. Part 1 offers resources that
make mindful crafts replicable. Each of 10 application
tables is followed by an interactive exercise that pro-
motes its use. The interactive exercises consider imple-
mentations of mindful crafts among a woman combat
veteran, a man with bipolar disorder, an older woman
with arthritis, a group in an assisted living facility, a
middle-aged man with traumatic brain injury, a young
mother on bed rest, a group of individuals with spinal
cord injury, and an older man with left cerebrovascular
accident. Author feedback follows the exercises. Part
2 presents photos of 14 therapeutic modifications in
action, with a request that readers identify client chal-
lenges to skills or functions that might warrant these
adjustments.
Part 3 consists of realistic practice challenges that
promote integrative thought. The seven challenges,
with the client noted parenthetically, are these: Analyze
three crafts and select the best (bipolar disorder in a
young man), record observations and suggest modifi-
cations (developmental delay and low vision in a young
woman), grade tasks and give environmental supports
(deconditioned status in an older man), identify client
interests and therapeutic crafts (outpatient group for
a variety of conditions), consider safe practice in a
restricted environment (conduct disorder in a teenaged
boy), resubmit a SOAP note for reimbursement (post-
surgical hand and posttraumatic stress syndrome in a
middle-aged man), and lead or co-lead a mindful craft
group using guidelines in this book (peers in student
groups or clients in fieldwork settings). Again, author
perspectives on each challenge offer helpful feedback.
Chapter 5 The Evidence That Supports Crafts
The research chapter. This chapter consists of a review
of published research on handcrafts used therapeuti-
cally. The chapter models a professional literature review
while interspersing salient historical and anecdotal nar-
ratives as special features. Research on mindful crafts
used among clients and students leads the discussion.
Informative tables clarify research results on mental
and physical health outcomes and will be helpful to
readers.
Highlights from the review include the following.
Despite challenges associated with their use, randomized
control trials (RCTs) and other quantitative inquiries
have occurred in highly diverse contexts, from clinical
settings to research think tanks. Studies of handcrafts
used therapeutically among individuals with diverse
conditions have used a broad range of designs; RCTs
are the least represented, qualitative methods the most.
Research findings about the benefits of craftwork
support most assumptions made in early chapters of
this book. The assumption that crafts benefit social
interactional skills is borne out, but effects on process
and motor skills need more investigation. The following
earned support: Handcrafts meet diverse preferences,
unique needs, and wide-ranging goals; are engaging,
from mildly absorbing to causing flow; divert attention
from anxiety, sorrow, and other disruptive challenges;
transform a client into an active and productive doer;
invite expression of the self; are purposeful and mean-
ingful in their process and outcomes; and affirm an
individual as a maker. The preponderance of evidence
related to handcrafts in health care to date supports
its positive effects on health of the mind regardless of
primary presenting condition.
The Craft Sections
Sections II, III, and IV each include two craft chapters.
Together these chapters offer 80+ craft guidelines
organized according to the PEO model.
Section II: Craft Interventions With the Person
in Mind
Chapter 6 Crafts With Interwoven Reflections on
Personal Themes
Chapter 7 Crafts With Preparatory Reflections on
Personal Themes
Section III: Craft Interventions With the Person’s
Environments in Mind
Chapter 8 Crafts With Interwoven Reflections on
Environmental Themes
Chapter 9 Crafts With Preparatory Reflections on
Environmental Themes
Section IV: Craft Interventions With the Person’s
Occupations in Mind
Chapter 10 Crafts With Interwoven Occupational
Reflections
Chapter 11 Crafts With Preparatory Reflections on
Occupational Themes
Each craft chapter offers an introductory overview, an
index of 12 to 15 crafts with a difficulty rating, pho-
tographs that showcase crafts and clarify instructions,

and detailed guidelines for conducting interventions,
grounded in the PEO and recovery models and reflect-
ing these points of consideration:
♦ PEO focus for the intervention
♦ Mindful theme that names and frames the session
♦ Required actions within the craft that point to an
appendix of related skills and functions
♦ A cue to formulate client-specific skill-building
goals
♦ Mindful goals for the intervention
♦ Introduction that sets the stage for a mindful
session
♦ Questions or exercises that prompt person-
centered reflection on the mindful theme
♦ Identification of tools and supplies (and patterns
if needed)
♦ Sequential instructions directed at the participant
♦ Troubleshooting tips that alert practitioners to
potential challenges
♦ Comments to foster reflection during quiet
moments
♦ Suggestions for an interactive conclusion
♦ Variations possible when planning the session
The learning-by-doing craft chapters. All six craft
chapters are designed to be used by readers, whether
students or practitioners. Distinctions between the two
complementary craft chapter types within each section
are these:
Chapters 6, 8, and 10 with
interwoven reflections
♦ The typical time for conducting each session is 60
minutes. Some interventions may require more
than one session.
♦ In these sessions, most didactics and client-
centered reflections are informal and woven into
the intervention. This format accommodates
clients for whom formal written work and
discussion might be overly challenging or
distancing. For clients preferring more formal
learning strategies, practitioners may formalize
this interwoven work into written exercises and
discussion periods, as seen in Chapters 7, 9,
and 11.
Chapters 7, 9, and 11 with
preparatory reflections
♦ The ideal time for conducting the full session is 90
minutes. All interventions take one session.
♦ During the first 30 minutes of these sessions,
clients complete a written didactic or reflective
exercise and engage in a brief discussion. This
Preface ix
format appeals to those seeking educational
content in occupational therapy. If practitioners
prefer 60-minute sessions, they may invite clients
to complete the written exercise before the session.
Additionally, both the exercise and discussion may
be transformed into interwoven work, as seen in
Chapters 6, 8, and 10.
The Appendices
Expedite key functions. The appendices can prompt
a swift implementation of the mindful crafts in this
book while helping practitioners to easily generalize a
process that will make many other crafts mindful.
Appendix A: Broad Required Actions With
Performance Skills and Body Functions
Analyze potential. This appendix is the outcome of an
analysis of all of the actions required during completion
of the crafts in this book. Forty required actions, such as
cut with scissors and stir liquid, were then further ana-
lyzed to specify their demands on performance skills
and bodily functions. Practitioners can use this resource
to consider and tap the therapeutic potential of crafts.
Appendix B: Modifications to Address Challenges
With Required Actions
Meet client needs. Alongside the actions required by
the crafts in this book, this appendix notes various
modifications that enable client performance. This
logical and imaginative resource can guide practi-
tioners in making adjustments to accommodate client
difficulties with process, motor, and social interactional
skills and sensory as well as emotional functions.
Appendix C: Analysis of Distribution of Required
Actions for Crafts in This Book Organized by
PEO Themes
Capture purpose and meaning. This index identifies at
a glance some 5 to 20 actions required by each mindful
craft, depending on its complexity. The organization of
the index highlights themes from the PEO model that
imbue crafts with meaning: person (self-concept and
self-determination), environment (physical, social, and
societal and cultural), and occupation (self-maintenance,
self-fulfillment, and self-expression). Using this resource,
practitioners can readily choose interventions with
purposeful actions and meaningful themes.
Appendix D: Actions and Skills Tapped by Craft-
Related Housekeeping Tasks
Enable adjunct occupations. Part 1 of this resource
examines the demands of several daily living tasks such
as wipe surfaces clean and deposit trash in receptacle that
x Preface
surround and support craft use. Part 2 offers modifica-
tions that make these tasks do-able despite performance
challenges with process, motor, and social interactional
skills or sensory and emotional functions. Practitioners
can use this integrative work to plan sessions that
enhance participation and affirm occupation.
Appendix E: Group Facilitation and Leadership
Rating Version A
Get or give feedback. This rubric allows an individual
to acquire or give feedback on performance in leading
a mindful craft session. The form allows the rating of
some 60 practitioner functions clustered into 6 catego-
ries. The Likert scale (5 = performed exceptionally well
to 2.5 = performed fairly well) is skewed in a positive
direction. Instructions specify a method of noting
functions well done or in need of improvement.
Appendix F: Group Facilitation and Leadership
Rating Version B
Give or get feedback. This rubric also allows an indi-
vidual to give or acquire feedback on performance in
leading a mindful craft session. Performance of some
45 practitioner functions clustered into 5 categories can
be rated using a clear checklist format. Points allotted
to each category and totaling 100 translate readily to
an academic grade.
The Book’s Special Features
Your Turn and Our View
In Chapters 1 through 4, Your Turn features offer
pauses in the reading that focus and provoke thought.
These features mimic exchanges that many educators
use at 15-minute intervals during interactive lectures.
Your Turns invite critical thinking to fuel discussion or
reflection that leads to awareness.
Working in tandem with the Your Turns are the
Our View features. These follow discrete sections of the
chapter and share author feedback related to clusters
of Your Turns. Not to be construed as rigid “answers,”
Our Views are just that—views of two seasoned practi-
tioners on the Your Turn prompts. Although typical of
how many practitioners might respond, Our Views are
not beyond question and invite discussion.
At the end of Chapter 1 and throughout Chapter 4,
the Your Turns become more complex opportunities
for the kinds of application that deepen knowledge and
understanding. In these instances, Our Views continue
to offer practitioner perspectives as opposed to fixed
solutions.
Drawing our Past Forward
In Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5, boxes titled Drawing our Past
Forward showcase historical narratives linked to the
discussion. Here, founders, professional leaders, and
practitioners from different decades describe perspec-
tives or practices from earlier times. These highlights
draw forward into the present a still-keen insight.
A Story
In Chapters 1, 2, and 5, boxes titled A Story feature
sometimes inspiring but always interesting anecdotes
about clients engaged in crafts or practitioners involved
in research. A few stories are ours, but most are contri-
butions that have come from colleagues eager to share
a story.
Ancillaries
For the Instructor
Assets housed on DavisPlus and available through
your instructor’s login include an Instructor’s Guide,
PowerPoint slides for Chapters 1 to 5, additional Prac-
tice Challenges similar to those in Chapter 4, an Image
Bank that includes all photographs in the book in their
original full color, and test questions.
 REVIEWERS

Alma R. Abdel-Moty, PhD, Hector Huerta, MS, OTD,

MS, OTR/L OTR/L
Clinical Associate Professor Occupational Therapy Department
Occupational Therapy Florida International University
Florida International University Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Joanne T. Jeffcoat, OTR/L,
Susan Baptiste, MHSc OT[C] MEd
Reg., FCAOT Professor
Professor Occupational Therapy Assistant Program
Rehabilitation Science Community College of Allegheny County/Boyce
McMaster University Campus
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Monroeville, Pennsylvania

Susan Lee Cheng, MS, OTR/L Stephanie Johnston, MA, OTR

Assistant Dean, Allied Health; Program Director, Professor and Fieldwork Coordinator
OTA Occupational Therapy Assistant Program
Health Technologies Lone Star College-Tomball
Durham Technical Community College Tomball, Texas
Durham, North Carolina
Linda Kelly, PhD, LOTR,
Tina Sue Fletcher, EdD, MFA, OTA
OTR Occupational Therapy Assistant Program Director
Assistant Professor Allied Health
Occupational Therapy Delgado Community College
Texas Woman’s University New Orleans, Louisiana
Dallas, Texas
Carol Marcus, MS, OTR/L
Jennifer L. Geitner, COTA/L, Clinical Coordinator and Instructor
BS, AFWC Occupational Therapy Assistant Program
Academic Fieldwork Coordinator/Faculty Durham Technical Community College
Occupational Therapy Assistant Durham, North Carolina
Pueblo Community College
Pueblo, Colorado
Nancy Ranft, OTD, OTR/L
Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy
Nancy Schneidenbach Green, Occupational Therapy
MHA, OTR/L The Sage Colleges
Program Chair Troy, New York
Occupational Therapy Assistant Connie Rooks, MAT, COTA/L
Cabarrus College of Health Sciences Program Director, Assistant Professor
Concord, North Carolina Allied Health, OTA Program
Western New Mexico University
Silver City, New Mexico

xi
xii Reviewers

Janeene Sibla, OTD, OTR/L Callie Schwartzkopf, OTD,

Occupational Therapy Program Director and OT/L
Professor Associate Professor
Occupational Therapy Occupational Therapy
University of Mary College of Saint Mary
Bismarck, North Dakota Omaha, Nebraska
Barbara Ellen Thompson, JoAnne Wright, PhD, OTR/L,
OTD, LCSW, OTR/L, CAGS CLVT
Professor Professor (Clinical)
Department of Occupational Therapy Division of Occupational Therapy
The Sage Colleges University of Utah
Troy, New York Salt Lake City, Utah

We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make
our blessings count.
—Neal A. Maxwell
The act of acknowledgment turns on gratitude. To
acknowledge others is to recognize them, declare a
receipt of gifts from them, disclose positive truths about
them, and express to them deep thanks. In the spirit
of being mindful, we acknowledge others in the full
sense of the word. We recognize, declare, and disclose
the generosity of many, and we express to them our
deepest thanks.
We first acknowledge the power that an occupation
can have in bringing people together. We discussed
writing a book once during casual conversation at a
state conference. We had never before worked together,
but we had both come to a similar understanding of
how adding deeper meaning to crafts enhanced their
worth. Our two years spent in the making of this book
have forged a friendship for which we are grateful.
We acknowledge our photographer, Ann Nikirk,
who captured so well the images of our crafts and our
grasp of mindfulness. Ann’s developing belief in the
power of occupation and mindful crafts was a resound-
ing endorsement that moved us toward completing our
work. We asked Ann to share an image of herself while
at work and in flow, and that photo appears in Figure
1-4 in Chapter 1.
We acknowledge the influence of those individuals
who led each of us to the idea of infusing meaning into
crafts—whether intellectual or emotional. For Cynthia,
that idea germinated while working among able team
members who forged an ever-increasing clarity about
the benefits of using metaphor to add meaning to
craftwork. These individuals include Martha Diskin,
MA, OTR; Anna Olson, MOT, MBA, OTR, CLT; Susan
Ennist Dobbs, MOT, OTR; and Claudette Fette, PhD,
OTR, RCC. For Suzanne, preparing to work with a new
population was the prompt. The prospect of making
crafts meaningful for what might be a tough and
mixed audience—women recovering from addictions,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
whether immersed in careers, living on the streets, or
newly released from prison. Adding symbolism to each
project seemed a good way to forestall complaints about
the irrelevance, condescending nature, or childishness
of crafts. The idea worked beautifully!
We acknowledge those who guided us in the making
of this book. We launched and finished the work with
the help of able editors. F.A. Davis senior acquisitions
editor Christa Fratantoro saw promise in our proposal,
shepherded it to acceptance, and helped us set a path.
Jill Rembetski, our developmental editor, organized
and led the review process, anticipated and answered
endless questions, and guided our steps with gentle
insight. We thank Margaret Biblis and George Lang
for their leadership and direction. We thank design
editor Carolyn O’Brien and art editor Kate Margeson
for enhancing the visual appeal of our work and Sharon
Lee and Lisa Thompson for moving our work toward
production. We also acknowledge F.A. Davis staff Alisa
Hathaway and Nichole Liccio who helped us to make
necessary connections without which the book would
not have emerged.
We acknowledge individuals who met our need for
expertise in practice areas that complement our own.
These clinicians and educators include Beatriz C. Abreu,
OTR, PhD, FAOTA; Kira Beal, OTD, OTR; Debbie
Buckingham, OTR, MS, CVE, CCM, CRC; April C.
Cowan, OTR, OTD, CHT; Barbara M. Doucet, OTR,
PhD; Tina Patel Gunaldo, PhD, PT, DPT, MHS; and
Shama Lawji, MOT, OTR. We hope that these experts
see that we used their suggestions to good advantage.
We acknowledge the generosity of others to whom
we turned for help. We thank practitioners who
shared experiences with crafts that became Our Story
features. The clinical stories of Beatriz Abreu, OTR,
PhD, FAOTA; Whitney-Reigh Asao, PhD, OTR; and
Paula McComb, OTR added to the deep understanding
xiii
xiv Acknowledgments
that we sought. Another group deserving our thanks
is a circle of friends in Northern Texas who willingly
engaged in many of our crafts, helping to tweak our
instructions and make samples that let us capture crafts
“in progress” with photos. These individuals include
Vivienne Pitts; Carol Griffith; Shann Shubert; and
Madeleine, Julianne, and John Nikirk.
We acknowledge the work of graduate occupational
therapy student assistants Megan Gay Crisson, Emily
Miller, and Dora Alcacio. Their devotion to this book
was clear in their search and review of literature, format-
ting and reformatting of documents, data management
from student surveys, and feedback on the clarity of
craft instructions. When this book comes to print, all
will have moved on to practice where we hope that they
use mindful crafts.
We acknowledge with deep thanks the support of
friends and family who encouraged us and understood
our need to spend time in “book mode.” We acknowledge
our mothers in a special way. Cynthia thanks Darlene
Biondi Evetts, whose longtime engagement in crafts,
whether in making home life festive or making con-
tributions within the community, taught her children
the worth of crafting. When in rehabilitation during
the last months of our writing, Mrs. Evetts used crafts
suggested by Cynthia and then taught them to others
in the setting. Suzanne is grateful to Loretta Bernier
Peloquin, whose able hands as hair stylist and gardener
turned to satisfying artwork in her brief retirement. Her
giving nature and gentle soul are well-remembered by
all who knew her. The nurturing spirits of these two
strong women course through our book as we aim to
gently persuade and imaginatively lead.
We hope that we have made count of the bless-
ings that we have received. The greatest blessing that
might come from this book is a widespread embrace
of mindful crafts, in which case our gratitude will turn
to readers like you.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1: Mindful Principles and Modifications to the Craftwork 53
Processes 1 Attend to Personal Relevance 53
Consider the Suitability of Tools 54
Chapter 1: The Mindfulness That Empowers Consider Objects and Their Properties 54
Crafts 3
Think About Sequence and Timing 55
Mindfulness and Mindlessness 4
Mindfulness Defined, Described, Attend to Safety Issues 55
and Illustrated 4 Grade Crafts With Two Directions
Mindlessness in Health Care 6 in Mind 56
Mindlessness in Occupational Therapy 8 Make a Fit That Leads to Performance:
A Case 60
The Understanding That Empowers
Occupational Therapy 9 Modifications Within the Person:
Understanding Persons and Their Positive Shifts Toward Health 62
Occupational Natures 10 A Healthy Shift in Role 63
Understanding Our Guiding Beliefs 11 A Healthy Shift in Participation 64
Insights From Holistic Person- Group Approaches to Craftwork 67
Centered Models: Person- Formal Population-Centered Groups 68
Environment-Occupation and Informal Population-Centered Craft
Recovery 12 Groups 71
Understanding Ourselves 14 Formal Setting-Specific Therapy
The Logical Analysis and Imaginative Groups 71
Synthesis That Empower Informal Setting-Specific Groups 72
Occupational Therapy 16
Informal Social Gatherings 72
Logical Assumptions About the
Therapeutic Potential of Craftwork 16 The Process of Mindful Craft Groups 73
Framing 73
Analysis of Each Craft 22
Crafting 75
Analysis of Each Craft Intervention 28
Meaning Making 77
Imaginative Activity Synthesis 29
Establishing Client-Centered Purpose 34 Summary 84
Discerning Meaning as Part of
Synthesis 35
Chapter 3: Making Craftwork Feasible 87
Personal Mindsets That Make Crafts
Summary 38 Do-Able 88
Create New Categories 88
Chapter 2: Making Craftwork Therapeutic 41 Be Open Minded 90
The Therapeutic Process Within Crafts 42 Take Control Over Context 92
Therapeutic Use of Self 42
Be Process Oriented 92
Creating a Good Fit 43
See Oneself as Savvy: Enhance
Modifications to the Craft Environment 47 Personal Skill 93
The Physical Environment 48
Mental Locks That Put Crafts at Risk 96
The Social Environment 49 Pathways to Administrative Support 98
Influential Contexts 50 Honor Institutional Culture 98

xv
xvi Table of Contents

Heed Administrative Directives: Perceptions Among

Evidence, Documentation, and Students 197
Finances 99 Research on the Therapeutic Use of
Pathways to Abundant Resources 115 Handcrafts 200
Secure Supplies: Starter Kits, Dual Focus 200
Discards, and Bright Ideas 115 Search Process 201
Secure Places and Spaces: Challenges in Securing Evidence 201
Organization and Improvisation 119
Contexts Within Which Evidence
Summary 124 on Handcrafts Has Mattered 203
Additional Research Findings
Chapter 4: Establishing Readiness for Organized Within a Recovery
Practice 127
Framework 214
PART 1: Resources That Lead to
Readiness 128 Discussion and Future Directions 224
Resources: The Purposeful Core Summary 226
of Crafts 128
SECTION 2: Craft Interventions With
Resources: The Meaningful Core the Person in Mind 231
of Interventions 142
PART 2: Photographs of Modifications 157 Chapter 6: Crafts With Interwoven
PART 3: Practice Challenges That Reflections on Personal
Develop Readiness 160 Themes 233
4-1 Analyze Three Crafts and Select Crafts With the Person in Mind:
the Best One—Bipolar Disorder 160 Self-Concept 235
4-2 Record Observations and 6-1 Cracked Pot—Reframing Flaws 235
Suggest Modifications— 6-2 Purple Hearts—Acknowledging
Developmental Delay and Low Pain and Suffering 237
Vision in a Young Woman 169 6-3 Mixed Emotions—Identifying
4-3 Grade Task and Environmental Internal Conflict 239
Supports—Deconditioned Status 171 6-4 Knock, Knock. Who’s There?
4-4 Identify Client Interests and Inside/Outside Emotions 242
Therapeutic Crafts—Outpatient 6-5 Treasure Boxes—Value
Group for a Variety of Conditions 175 Clarification 246
4-5 Consider Safe Practice in a 6-6 What’s Your Superpower?
Restricted Environment—Conduct Adventures in Life 248
Disorder in a Teenaged Boy 177
Crafts With the Person in Mind:
4-6 Resubmit a SOAP Note for Self-Determination 250
Reimbursement—Postsurgical 6-7 Layers—Reflecting on Personal
Hand and Posttraumatic Stress Development 250
Disorder 179
6-8 Get Real—Telling My Story 255
4-7 Lead or Co-Lead a Mindful Craft
6-9 Review, Appraise, Plan—Past,
Group 181
Present, Future 259
Perspectives on the Challenges 182
6-10 Totem Fetishes—Character
Summary 192
Strengths and Aspirations 261
Chapter 5: The Evidence That Supports 6-11 What’s in Your Wallet?
Crafts 195 Identity 264
Research to Date on Mindful Crafts 196 6-12 Refocusing, Letting Go,
Perceptions of Satisfaction and Moving On—Recycling
Engagement 196 Unpleasant Memories 267
 Table of Contents xvii

Chapter 7: Crafts With Preparatory 8-5 Interpersonal Relations—Inside/

Reflections on Personal Outside Box 367
Themes 271 8-6 Blast From the Past—
Crafts With the Person in Mind: Environmental Impact 369
Self-Concept 272
8-7 Social Ties—Strengthening
7-1 Having a Positive Sense of Self 273
Relationships 371
7-2 Scratching Past the Surface 277
8-8 Friendly Bouquet—Individuals
7-3 Amazing Grace 282 in Community 374
7-4 Windows Into the Soul 286 Crafts With the Environment in Mind:
7-5 Taking a Lighthearted Perspective 290 Cultural and Societal Environment 378
7-6 Taking Pride in Being or 8-9 Best-Laid Plans—Coping With
Honoring a Real Woman 294 Change 378

7-7 Taking Pride in Being or 8-10 Not So Trivial Trivets—

Honoring a Real Man 299 Adaptation to Change 380

7-8 Spring Holiday Reflections 8-11 What’s Bugging You? Problem

About Recovery 303 Solving 383

7-9 Winter Holiday—Joy 309 8-12 Who Am I? Communication

and Interaction Skills 384
Crafts With the Person in Mind:
Self-Determination 313
7-10 Reinventing the Self 313 Chapter 9: Crafts With Preparatory
7-11 Having Purpose and Motivation 317 Reflections on Environmental
7-12 Transformations in Life 322
Themes 389
Crafts With the Environment in Mind:
7-13 Pieces to Peace 327 Physical Environment 390
7-14 Spring Holiday—What Are 9-1 Being in a Safe and Accessible
You Hatching? 331 Place 391
7-15 Holding on to Friendship 338 9-2 Seeds of Recovery 397
9-3 It’s in the Bag 401
SECTION 3: Craft Interventions 9-4 We Fly and Crawl 406
With the Person’s 9-5 Winter Holiday—The Little
Environments in Mind 347 Things 410
Crafts With the Environment in Mind:
Chapter 8: Crafts With Interwoven Social Environment 415
Reflections on Environmental 9-6 Being Among Supportive Others 415
Themes 349
Crafts With the Environment in Mind: 9-7 What Are You Banking On? 419
Physical Environment 351 9-8 Being Real 423
8-1 Welcome/Keep Out—Protecting 9-9 Being in a Nurturing Place 428
Well-Being 351
9-10 Halloween—Web of Support 435
8-2 Doors—Interpersonal
Crafts With the Environment in Mind:
Boundaries 356
Cultural and Societal Environment 440
8-3 Boxes to Baskets— 9-11 Respecting Boundaries 440
Repurposing—Accepting
9-12 Square One 444
and Embracing Change 360
9-13 Halloween—Healthy Tricks or
Crafts With the Environment in Mind:
Treats 448
Social Environment 364
8-4 Parts of a Whole— 9-14 Catching the Sun in Your Life 453
Acknowledging Influential Others 364 9-15 Weaving a Balanced View 457
xviii Table of Contents

SECTION 4: Craft Interventions 11-4 Coping With Courage and

With the Person’s Heart 516
Occupations in Mind 461 11-5 Holding On, Letting Go 519
Crafts With the Occupation in Mind:
Chapter 10: Crafts
With Interwoven Self-Fulfillment 523
Occupational Reflections 463
11-6 Bucket List 523
Crafts With the Occupation in Mind:
Self-Maintenance 464 11-7 From Broken to Whole 527
10-1 Framed—First Impressions 465 11-8 Valentine’s Day—Life’s Patterns 531
10-2 Guardian Angels—Risky 11-9 Tearing Apart, Rebuilding 534
Behaviors 467 11-10 Swimming Strong 538
10-3 Getting It Together—Problem- Crafts With the Occupation in Mind:
Solving Process 470 Self-Expression 543
10-4 Keep On Keeping On—Routine 11-11 Developing Healthy Habits 543
Building 472 11-12 Essential Tools for Growth 547
Crafts With the Occupation in Mind: 11-13 Winter Holiday—Giving Real
Self-Fulfillment 475 Gifts 551
10-5 Holding it Together—
11-14 Giving Thanks 557
Catch-All Can 475
11-15 Mother’s or Father’s Day—
10-6 To-Do List Accountability—
Making Parental Connections 563
Seven-Day Log 477
10-7 Symbolic Reminders—Visual
Appendix A: Broad
Required Actions With
Cues 480
Performance Skills and Body
10-8 An Extra Pocket—Taking Time Functions 571
for Self 482
Crafts With the Occupation in Mind: Appendix B: Modifications
to Address
Self-Expression 486 Challenges With Required
10-9 Spiritual Expressions—Prayer Actions 591
Beads 486
10-10 Magic Wands—Expressing Appendix C: Analysis
of Distribution of
Yourself With Style 490 Required Actions for Crafts
in This Book Organized by
10-11 Personal Business: Profiling
PEO Themes 613
Strengths 494
10-12 DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Book— Appendix D: Actions
and Skills Tapped by
Explain Yourself 498 Craft-Related Housekeeping
Tasks 623
Chapter 11: CraftsWith Preparatory
Reflections on Occupational Appendix E: Group
Facilitation and
Themes 503 Leadership Rating Version A 635
Crafts With the Occupation in Mind:
Self-Maintenance 504 Appendix F: Group
Facilitation and
11-1 Eating With a Design in Mind 505 Leadership Rating Version B 637
11-2 Carrying Responsibilities 509
Index 639
11-3 Thinking Little 513
SECTION ONE

Mindful Principles
and Processes
 CHAP TE R

1
The Mindfulness That
Empowers Crafts
Guided by the belief that occupational therapy is a personal
engagement, we enable occupations that heal.

LE A R NING O U TC O MES
1. Distinguish between mindful and mindless health-care practices.
2. Identify longstanding aspects of mindfulness in occupational therapy practice.
3. Elaborate a deep understanding of persons and their occupational natures.
4. Identify the guiding beliefs and person-centered models that shape best practice.
5. Describe the relationship between conscious and therapeutic use of self.
6. Offer logical assumptions to support the therapeutic use of crafts.
7. Apply logical activity analysis to a given craft.
8. Describe the principles of imaginative activity synthesis.
9. Elaborate the manner in which crafts can be made mindful.

When it comes to making interventions work, practi-
tioners must be mindful. To be true to the meaning of
the term, they must be attentive and aware. They must
be careful. They must heed the mindful functions of
practice. More specifically, occupational therapy prac-
titioners must honor three dimensions of mindfulness:
(1) a deep understanding of persons and therapy, (2)
logical activity analysis, and (3) imaginative activity
synthesis. In this chapter, we elaborate the meaning of
each after sharing this overview.
Consider first the need to understand or “really get”
some things. As occupational therapy practitioners, we
must understand persons, their occupational natures,
and the unsettling disruptions that occupational chal-
lenges cause in a life. This aspect of mindfulness human-
izes therapy. We must next understand the guiding
beliefs of occupational therapy and the action-oriented
principles drawn from person-centered models. This
understanding sets the depth, scope, and direction
of therapy. And we must also turn inward so as to
understand ourselves and how we work with others.
This aspect of mindfulness helps us become caring.
Beyond this threefold understanding, our mindful-
ness extends to logical analysis and imaginative synthe-
sis. We must use logic to analyze the demands of an
occupation, activity, or task and identify the skills and
functions needed to meet those demands. This aspect
of mindfulness gives purpose to our therapy. We must
then turn to those who seek our care. Clients bring
to therapy unique needs and strengths. Clients tell us
what has meaning. We must work imaginatively with
them to synthesize our knowledge of therapy and their
grasp of their situations. This aspect of mindfulness
individualizes therapy and makes it engaging. The
ensuing goodness of fit—best practice—has healing
power.
Can practitioners use craft interventions mindfully?
This book is our “Yes!” In this chapter, we make our
3
4 SECTION ONE ✍ Mindful Principles and Processes
approach transparent. We share a practice of deep
understanding, logical analysis, and imaginative syn-
thesis. We showcase mindful crafts. Our bottom line is
this: You can make crafts work.
Your Turn 1-1
Look at Figure 1-1. Before reading any further,
write within each loop in the figure a number
from 1 to 5 (with 5 indicating very familiar
and 1 not so familiar) to answer this question:
What number would you use to rate your
familiarity with each of the three dimensions
of mindfulness named in the figure? If, for
example, you think that you are somewhat
familiar with logical activity analysis, you
might write the number 3 within that loop.
Deep
understanding
of persons and
therapy
Logical
activity
analysis
Imaginative
activity
synthesis
MINDFUL
CRAFTWORK
FIGURE 1-1 The mindfulness that empowers crafts.
Mindfulness and Mindlessness
We turn to a discussion of mindfulness because we
believe that framing occupational therapy interventions
in terms of mindfulness awakens us to vital functions of
practice. We believe that we are at risk of being pulled
or lulled into mindlessness in today’s health systems.
Our aim is not to flaunt a trendy term but to deeply
consider the grounding in mindfulness that the best of
occupational therapy has always been.
Mindfulness Defined, Described,
and Illustrated
Definitions of mindfulness and its opposite are impor-
tant preludes to a discussion of mindlessness in health
care. The term mindful is defined as “attentive, aware,
and careful.” Synonyms include “heedful,” “thoughtful,”
and “regardful.” When we hear the term mindless, we
rightly deduce that inattentive, unaware, and careless
apply. The dictionary notes that heedless, thoughtless,
and disregardful also fit.
Mindfulness, then, means being attentive to, aware
of, and careful about something—some idea, function,
or person. Mindfulness helps us to do safely and well
the things that we choose to do. See Figure 1-2 for one
of those things.
We all claim to be dutifully mindful. We likewise
admit that mindlessness “happens.” Consider driving.
Complex enough to warrant a license and dangerous
enough that criminal charges attach to recklessness,
driving can occur mindlessly. Long stretches of highway
can pull us from active driving. Suddenly “brought
back” from musing about other things, we fear we’ve
passed our exit. So skilled are most of us at steadying
the wheel and checking the mirrors that we drive a
two-ton vehicle on autopilot.
FIGURE 1-2 Mindful threading of a needle.
 CHAPTER 1
FIGURE 1-3 Mindless application of toothpaste.
Your Turn 1-2
Identify an activity other than driving during
which you find yourself acting on autopilot.
Which, if any, adverse consequences can
follow?
Most are less attentive during basic self-care. The
precise steps and motions in applying deodorant or
tying shoes all move to the background until some
occupational challenge thwarts their attempt. As occu-
pational therapy practitioners, we stay mindful of daily
activities, aware of their demands and dimensions.
Others turn to us for help because we heed the realm
of daily performance, staying mindful on their behalf.
See in Figure 1-3 the result of a mindless moment.
Mindfulness, then, is the adaptive state of being
attentive and aware. It allows us to do carefully whatever
we need to do. Fables and fairy tales portray mindful-
ness in ways that move past its value in daily activities
into matters of life and death. Little Red Riding Hood
(Lang, 1891) and a later rendition called The Little Girl
and the Wolf (Thurber, 1939) offer contrasting views.
Little Red Riding Hood features a young girl setting
out with a basket of goodies to take to her sick grand-
mother. Along the way, she meets and chats with a wolf,
mindlessly disclosing to him her destination. This Big
Bad Wolf takes his leave of the girl and lopes ahead to
make a satisfying if hurried meal of the grandmother.
Astute wolf that he is, he sees in the approach of
the child a chance for a second meal. He dresses in
granny’s bedclothes, slips into her bed, and greets the
girl. She exclaims over oddities in the wolf ’s voice and
features, heedless of their meaning. Her last comment,
✍ The Mindfulness That Empowers Crafts 5
“Grandmother, what big teeth you have,” elicits a deadly
response. Mindlessness can be deadly.
James Thurber’s fable, The Little Girl and the Wolf
(1939), introduces a young girl of a different ilk.
Thurber takes liberties with Lang’s tale:
She had approached no nearer than twenty-five
feet from the bed when she saw that it was not
her grandmother but the wolf, for even in a
nightcap a wolf does not look any more like
your grandmother than the Metro-Goldwyn
lion looks like Calvin Coolidge. So the girl took
an automatic out of her basket and shot the
wolf dead. (p. 5)
The moral of Thurber’s story is this: “It is not so easy
to fool little girls nowadays as it used to be” (Thurber,
1939, p. 5). Mindfulness can save us.
Most of us can point to bodily nicks and scars,
evidence of mindless moments turned unsafe. Mind-
lessness can hurt feelings, too. Read what author May
Sarton (1988) had to say about her experience at a
hairdresser’s:
While Donna was securing my hair into curlers,
an old lady who was waiting to be picked up
came and stood beside us and talked cheerfully
about herself and her daughters and Donna
responded. It was as though I did not exist, was
an animal being groomed. (p. 235)
Sarton felt disregard when her hairdresser attended to
another. In similar circumstances, some of us might feel
the same. Others of us might feel no dismay and take
our thoughts elsewhere. Perceptions of mindlessness
as rude can differ.
Your Turn 1-3
Would the behavior described by May Sarton
bother you if you were at the hairdresser’s or
barber shop? Explain.
We’ve established our familiarity with mindfulness
and its opposite. Two more points of discussion seem
salient: the absorbed state that mindfulness can cause
and the mindfulness revolution.
Absorption
First, consider the deep absorption that mindfulness
can produce. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
(1990) named this positively energized state flow. He
described flow as an intense mental state when one
6 SECTION ONE ✍ Mindful Principles and Processes
FIGURE 1-4 Engagement in flow during photography.
engages in a just-right challenge. Some ignore food
or drink when in flow. Flow can occur with artwork,
sports, or playing an instrument (Fig. 1-4). The sense
of being swept away on water led to the naming of
flow. Passive activities cannot elicit flow; they evoke
boredom or anxiety (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). Many of
our clients can name activities that absorb them, and
we should stay mindful of these. If we strive to occupy
our clients, we should be skeptical of methods that are
downright boring.
What can we say about an activity that, although
still absorbing, tends to calm us? Such engagement
is mindful in that we stay present to the activity, but
the mental state is not intense. We often switch from
intense tasks to those that tax us less. Some call these
“mind-flushers.” Benefits can follow an easy mindful-
ness that diverts us from stress and pain. We bristle
when others call occupational therapy diversional.
Our work, we say, is therapeutic. But diversion can be
therapeutic. Removal from anxiety about the future or
sorrow over the past offers a healthy reprieve. Individu-
als find reprieve in different tasks, from tidying shelves
to grooming pets (Figure 1-5).
FIGURE 1-5 Absorption in pet grooming.
Time spent in simple stitching or sanding can be
restful steps in craftwork. We note this calmly absorbed
state alongside that of flow because they both affect our
well-being in time. If Csikszentmihalyi’s flow is like
being swept away in time, restful absorption is like a
gentle floating. Bays (2011) described the floating well:
“The mind needs rest, too. Where it finds rest is in the
present moment, where it can lie down and relax into
the flow of events” (p. 6).
The mindfulness revolution
A second point about mindfulness seems important
to our discussion: the mindfulness revolution. Strate-
gies for achieving mindfulness fill the psychological
literature as part of healing and living well (Boyce,
2011). The practice of mindfulness derives from
Eastern philosophies and from cognitive behavioral
therapy (Boyce, 2011). Prompts from this practice, such
as staying in the moment and living life to its fullest,
align well with occupational therapy. All of this merit
aside, our focus is neither on the mindfulness revolu-
tion nor in trying to prompt a meditative state. Rather,
our view of mindfulness targets the common view of
attentiveness, awareness, and care in using occupations
that has characterized best practice since our incep-
tion. We target the construct because the challenges to
stay mindful nowadays are on the rise, particularly in
health care.
Mindlessness in Health Care
We see mindfulness as the force behind best practice.
We especially note the need to be mindful of the persons
who seek our care. Currents in care systems shape an
 CHAPTER 1
undertow that can pull us from such regard. Stories
shared by those seeking care suggest that caregivers can
be mindless. We hear such stories at family gatherings,
on elevators, and in waiting rooms. In stories thought
uncaring, concern for the person’s experiences, feelings,
and needs is not primary, preempted by matters thought
more pressing (Biro, 2000; Casillas, 2006; Cole, 2004;
Gazella, 2004; Hill, 2006; Ivančić, 2006; Martensen,
2008; Sonkë, Rollins, Brandman, & Graham-Pole, 2009;
Srivastana, 2011). Surely no caregiver intends harm,
but many engage in hurtful behaviors. In a hallmark
statement, physician Seymour Sarason (1985) wrote:
In a vague, inchoate way, people feel and
know that the clinical endeavor has become
problematic, that those who are in helping roles
are both cause and victim, that something is
wrong somewhere, and that far from getting
better, it seems to be getting worse. (pp. 203–204)
During the 1980s and 1990s, many individuals went
public with health care narratives that clarified the
problem and shed light on its nature and causes. Those
stories decried actions thought uncaring: (1) failure to
see injury, illness, and chronic conditions as having
deeply personal consequences; (2) failure to attend to
that which patients want to share; (3) establishment of a
distance that feels cold and dismissive; (4) withholding
of information that patients deem important; (5) use
of brusque manners; and (6) misuse of professional
power (Peloquin, 1993a). More recent stories affirm the
same complaints (Biro, 2000; Casillas, 2006; Cole, 2004;
Gazella, 2004; Hill, 2006; Ivančić, 2006; Martensen,
2008; Sonkë et al., 2009; Srivastana, 2011). Each com-
plaint targets a form of being inattentive to or unaware
of something, of being careless toward someone.
A narrative seems apt, and Arnold Beisser’s (1989) is
a classic. A physician and former tennis champion who
contracted polio just months before the vaccine hit the
market, Beisser thought his hospital time quite grim:
I would call the nurse and ask for another
blanket to cover me. The room seemed
comfortable to her, so she would doubt my
judgment. In order to check, she would usually
reach down to feel my leg. Then she would say
something like, “Oh, it’s all right, you’re not
cold.” (pp. 18–19)
His perceptions of feeling cold were dismissed. His
bodily experience was ignored. The nurse’s attention to
his room and skin temperature preempted his discom-
fort. Professional coldness prevailed. How differently
might Beisser have felt with the gift of a blanket!
✍ The Mindfulness That Empowers Crafts 7
Thankfully, instances of caring occurred, even during
difficult times. This one affirms a hasty handcraft:
As I slept, a nurse took the cloth wrapping
off a sterile instrument. He smoothed out the
material. He painted with a blue flow pen a
moon face with wide eyes and an enormous
crescent smile. He climbed over my bed. He
climbed over my plants and hung this banner
down from my window, using the extra-wide
masking tape. It was the first thing I saw in the
morning. (Lee, 1987, p. 111)
In most cases of uncaring, a regard for something other
than the patient’s concerns prevails. Note Sarason’s take:
Helpers are both cause and victim (1985). Caregivers
struggle. They name societal and institutional forces
that pull them from caring. Three seem dominant:
(1) an emphasis on logical fixing; (2) an overreliance
on methods and protocols; and (3) a health-care system
driven by business, efficiency, and profit (Buckly, 2011;
Crossen & Tollen, 2010; Frampton, 2009; Gazella, 2004;
Muñoz, 2006; Peloquin, 1993b; Sonkë et al., 2009;
Srivastana, 2011).
Each of these three dominant forces carries a concern
vital to best practice. Health-care problems must be
solved; sound methods must shape treatment; institu-
tions must have business sense. But when logical fixing,
scientific methods, or profit-first ideas stand at the
center, patients feel displaced. Even when unintended,
the mindlessness hurts. Often client and caregiver feel
pain, as in this more recent example:
Five months of clerkships had shown me that
the ideal patient-doctor relationship ... crumbles
under the demands of ward work. I had already
begun to place my efficiency, interests, and
performance ahead of the patient’s feelings and
questions. ... I felt ashamed that we had neither
listened, nor made her feel comfortable, nor
prepared her in the slightest for a diagnosis that
we knew she wouldn’t understand. (Muñoz,
2006)
Reform has accelerated since the “unraveling of health
care” in the mid-1990s when the “miracle of the managed
care marketplace did not deliver” (Morrison, 2000).
Changes have included a proliferation of satisfaction
surveys, accountability proposals, “customer training
workshops,” and recognition and reward programs for
caring behaviors. We have a long way to go, with Press
Ganey Associates’ (2013) special reports affirming the
need for a deeper understanding of client sentiment
than that offered by satisfaction measures.
Another random document with
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Good men and
true, and Hit the line hard
 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
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included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
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eBook.

Title: Good men and true, and Hit the line hard

Author: Eugene Manlove Rhodes

Illustrator: Harvey Dunn

Release date: April 4, 2024 [eBook #73330]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: Grossett & Dunlap, 1910

Credits: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online

Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
(This file was produced from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOOD MEN

AND TRUE, AND HIT THE LINE HARD ***
“And how are we now, my young friend?”—Page 39.
 GOOD MEN AND
TRUE
AND
HIT THE LINE HARD
BY
EUGENE MANLOVE RHODES

AUTHOR OF
BRANSFORD OF RAINBOW RANGE,
THE DESIRE OF THE MOTH,
WEST IS WEST, Etc.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY
H. T. DUNN

NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS
Made in the United States of America
 Copyright, 1910, by
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY

Copyright, 1920, by
THE H. K. FLY COMPANY
 ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
“And how are we now, my young friend?” Frontispiece
They pulled him down, fighting savagely 166
 GOOD MEN AND TRUE
Chapter I

“I always thought they were fabulous monsters.

Is it alive?”

—The Unicorn.

SUN and wind of thirty-six out-of-door years had tanned Mr. Jeff
Bransford’s cheek to a rosy-brown, contrasting sharply with the
whiteness of the upper part of his forehead, when exposed—as now
—by the pushing up of his sombrero. These same suns and winds
had drawn at the corners of his eyes a network of fine lines: but the
brown eyes were undimmed, and his face had a light, sure look of
unquenchable boyishness; sure mark of the unattached, and
therefore carefree and irresponsible man, who, as the saying goes,
“is at home wherever his hat is hung.”
The hat in question was a soft gray one, the crown deeply creased
down the middle, the wide brim of it joyously atilt, merging insensibly
from one wavy curve into another and on to yet a third, like Hogarth’s
line of beauty.
Mr. Bransford’s step was alert and springy: perhaps it had even a
slight, unconscious approach to a swagger, as of one not unsatisfied
with himself. He turned at the corner of Temple Street, skipped
lightsome up a stairway and opened an office door, bearing on its
glass front the inscription:
SIMON HIBLER
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW
“Is Mr. Hibler in?”
The only occupant of the room—a smooth-faced and frank-eyed
young man—rose from his desk and came forward.
“Mr. Hibler is not in town.”
“Dee-lightful! And when will he be back?” The rising inflection on the
last word conveyed a resolute vivacity proof against small
annoyances.
“To tell you the truth, I do not know. He is over in Arizona, near San
Simon—for change and rest.”
“H’m!” The tip of the visitor’s nose twitched slightly, the brown eyes
widened reflectively; the capable mouth under the brown mustache
puckered as if to emit a gentle whistle. “He’ll bring back the change.
I’ll take all bets on that. San Simon! H’m!” He shrugged his
shoulders, one corner of his mouth pulled down in whimsical fashion,
while the opposite eyebrow arched, so giving his face an
appearance indescribably odd: the drooping side expressive of
profound melancholy, while the rest of his face retained its habitual
look of invincible cheerfulness. “San Simon! Dear, oh dear! And I
may just nicely contemplate my two thumbs till he gets back with the
change—and maybeso the rest!” He elevated the thumbs and cast
vigilant glances at each in turn: half-chanting, dreamily:
“‘O, she left her Tombstone home
For to dwell in San Simon,
And she run off with a prairie-navigator.’
—Ran off, I should say.” His nose tweaked again.
The clerk was a newcomer in El Paso, hardly yet wonted to the
freakish humor and high spirits that there flourish unrebuked—and
indeed, unnoticed. But he entered into the spirit of the occasion. “Is
there anything I can do?” he inquired. “I am Mr. Hibler’s chief—and
only—clerk.”
“No-o,” said the visitor doubtfully, letting his eyes wander from his
thumbs to the view of white-walled Juarez beyond the river. “No-o—
That is, not unless you can sell me his Rainbow ranch and brand for
less than they’re worth. Such is my errand—on behalf of Pringle,
Beebe, Ballinger and Bransford. I’m Bransford—me.”
“Jeff Bransford? Mr. Hibler’s foreman?” asked the young man
eagerly.
“Mr. Jeff Bransford—foreman for Hibler—not of,” amended Bransford
gently. His thumbs were still upreared. Becoming suddenly aware of
this, he fixed them with a startled gaze.
“Say! Take supper with me!” The young man blurted out the words.
“Mr. Hibler’s always talking about you and I want to get acquainted
with you. Aughinbaugh’s my name.”
Bransford sat down heavily, thumbs still erect, elbows well out from
his side, and transferred his gaze, with marked respect, to the clerk’s
boyish face, now very rosy indeed.
Jeff’s eyes grew big and round; his lips were slightly parted; the
thumbs drooped, the fingers spread wide apart in mutual dismay.
Holding Aughinbaugh’s eyes with his own, he pressed one
outspread hand over his heart. Slowly, cautiously, the other hand
fumbled in a vest pocket, produced notebook and pencil, spread the
book stealthily on his knee and began to write. “‘A good name,’” he
murmured, “‘is rather to be chosen than great riches.’”
But the owner of the good name was a lad of spirit, and had no mind
to submit tamely to such hazing. “See here! What does a cowboy
know about the Bible, anyway?” he demanded, glaring indignantly. “I
believe you’re a sheep in wolves’ clothing! You don’t talk like a
cowboy—or look like a cowboy.”
Jeff glanced down at his writing, and back to his questioner. Then he
made an alteration, closed the book and looked up again. He had a
merry eye.
“Exactly how does a cowboy look? And how does it talk?” he asked
mildly. He glanced with much interest over as much of his own
person as he could see; turning and twisting to aid the process. “I
don’t see anything wrong. Is my hair on straight?”
“Wrong!” echoed Aughinbaugh severely, shaking an accusing finger.
“Why, you’re all wrong. What the public expects——”
Mr. Bransford’s interruption may be omitted. It was profane. Also, it
was plagiarized from Commodore Vanderbilt.
“You a cowboy! Yah!” said Aughinbaugh in vigorous scorn. “With a
silk necktie! Everybody knows that the typical cowboy wears a red
cotton handkerchief.”
“How long since you left New York?”
“Me? I’m from Kansas City.”
“Same thing,” said Bransford coldly. “I mean, how long since you
came to El Paso? And have you been out of town since?”
“About eight months. And I confess that my duties—at first in the
bank and afterwards here, have kept me pretty close, except for a
trip or two to Juarez. But why?”
“Why enough!” returned Jeff. “Young man, young man! I see the
finger of fate in this. It is no blind chance that brought me here while
Hibler was away. It was predestined from the foundations of earth
that I was to come here at this very now to explain to you about
cowboys. I have the concentrated venom of about twenty-one years
stored away to work off on somebody, and I feel it in my bones that
you are the man. Come with me and I will do you good—as it says in
mournful Numbers. You’ve been led astray. You shouldn’t believe all
you read and only half what you see.
“In the first place, take the typical cowboy. There positively ain’t no
sich person! Maybe so half of ’em’s from Texas and the other half
from anywhere and everywhere else. But they’re all alike in just one
thing—and that is that every last one of them is entirely different from
all the others. Each one talks as he pleases, acts as he pleases and
—when not at work—dresses as he pleases. On the range though,
they all dress pretty much alike.—Because, the things they wear
there have been tried out and they’ve kept only the best of each kind
—the best for that particular kind of work.”
“They ‘proved all things and held fast that which was good,’”
suggested Aughinbaugh.
“Exactly. For instance, that handkerchief business. That isn’t meant
as a substitute for a necktie. Ever see a drought? If you did, you
probably remember that it was some dusty. Well—there’s been a
steady drought out here for two hundred and eight million years
come August. And when you drive two, three thousand head of
cattle, with four feet apiece, to the round-up ground and chouse ’em
’round half a day, cutting out steers, the dust is so thick a horse can’t
fall down when he stumbles. Then mister cowboy folds his little
hankie, like them other triangles that the ladies, God bless ’em, with
their usual perversity, call ‘squares,’ ties the ends, puts the knot at
the back of his neck, pulls the wide part over his mouth and up over
the bridge of his nose, and breathes through it! Got that? By
heavens, it’s a filter to keep the dust out of your lungs, and not an
ornament! It’s usually silk—not because silk is booful but because it’s
better to breathe through.”
“Really, I never dreamed——” began Aughinbaugh. But Jeff waved
him down.
“Don’t speak to the man at the wheel, my son. And everything a
cowboy uses, at work, from hat to boots, from saddle to bed, has just
as good a reason for being exactly what it is as that handkerchief.
Take the high-heeled boots, now——”
“Dad,” said Aughinbaugh firmly. “I am faint. Break it to me easy. I
was once an interior decorator of some promise, though not a
professional. Let me lead you to a restaurant and show you a
sample of my skill. Then come round to my rooms and tell me your
troubles at leisure. Maybe you’ll feel better. But before you explain
your wardrobe I want to know why you don’t say ‘You all’ and ‘that-a-
way,’ ‘plumb’ and ‘done gone,’ and the rest of it.”
“I do, my dear, when I want to,” said Bransford affectionately.
“Them’s all useful words, easy and comfortable, like old clothes and
old shoes. I like ’em. But they go with the old clothes. And now, as
you see, I am—to use the metropolitan idiom—in my ‘glad rags’ and
my speech naturally rises in dignity to meet the occasion. Besides,
associating with Beebe—he’s one of them siss—boom—ah! boys—
has mitigated me a heap. Then I read the signs, and the brands on
the freight cars. And I’ll tell you one more thing, my son. A large
proportion—I mean, of course, a right smart chance—of the cowboys
are illiterate, and some of them are grand rascals, but they ain’t none
of ’em plumb imbeciles. They couldn’t stay on the job. If their brains
don’t naturally work pretty spry, things happen to ’em—the chuck-
wagon bunts ’em or something. And they all have a chance at ‘the
education of a gentleman’—‘to ride, to shoot and to speak the truth.’
They have to ride and shoot—and speakin’ the truth comes easier
for them than for some folks, ’cause if speaking the aforesaid truth
displeases any one they mostly don’t give a damn.”
“Stop! Spare me!” cried Aughinbaugh. He collapsed in his chair,
sliding together in an attitude of extreme dejection. “My spirits are
very low, but——” He rose, tottered feebly to his desk and took
therefrom a small bottle, which, with a glass, he handed to
Bransford.
“Thanks. But you—you’re a tee-totaler?” said Jeff.
“A—well—not exactly,” stammered Aughinbaugh. “But I have to be
very careful. I—I only take one drink at a time!” He fumbled out
another glass.
“I stumble, I stumble!” said Bransford gravely. He poured out a small
drink and passed the bottle. “‘I fill this cup to one made up!’”—He
held the glass up to the light.
“Well?” said Aughinbaugh, expectantly. “Go on!”
“That description can’t be bettered,” said Bransford.
“Never will I drink such a toast as that,” cried Aughinbaugh, laughing.
“Let me substitute, Here’s to our better acquaintance!”
 Chapter II

“Life is just one damn thing after another.”

—A Nameless Philosopher.

AUGHINBAUGH closed the door behind him and paused, vastly

diverted. His entrance had passed unnoted, muffled by the jerky
click-click of the typewriter on which Jeff Bransford toiled with painful
absorption. On Jeff’s forehead little beads of sweat stood out,
glistening in the lamp-light. He scanned the last line, scowled
ferociously, and snapped the platen back. His uncertain fingers
twitched solicitously above the keys. Aughinbaugh chuckled
offensively.
“‘Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.’”
he declaimed.
Jeff whirled around. “Hello, here you are! Any news from our
employer?” He rose with a sigh of relief and mopped his brow. “Gee!
I’ve got to work the Jim-fidgets out of my fingers.”
Ignoring the query, Aughinbaugh took a step forward, drew up his
slender frame, inflated his chest, spread one hand upon it, and threw
up his other hand with a flourish of limber fingers. “‘Now is the time,’”
he spouted forth at Bransford, mouthing the well-known words, “‘for
all good men and true to come to the aid of the party!’”
Jeff grinned sheepishly. “I’ll dream that cussed thing to-night. How
long did it take you to learn to play a tune on this fool contraption,
anyhow?”
“It took me three months—to play on it anyhow. But then I already
knew how to spell. I’ve been at it two years since and am still
improving. I should estimate that you would need about eight years.
Better give it up. Try a maul or a piledriver. More suited to your
capabilities. Why, Jeff, a really good stenographer can do first-class
work in the dark.”
“Eight years? George, you’re an optimist. I’ve worked two solid hours
on this one ‘simple little sentence,’ as you call it, and I’ve never got it
right once. Sometimes I’ve come within one letter of it. Once I made
a mighty effort and got all the letters right, but I forgot to space and
ran the words together. And say—that simple little sentence hasn’t
got near all the letters in it. B, j, k, q, v, x and z are left out.”
“Here, then—here’s one that contains every letter: ‘A quick move by
the enemy will jeopardize six fine gunboats.’”
Jeff pulled pad and pencil to him. “Give me that again and I’ll take it
down.” Repeating the alphabet slowly, he canceled each letter as he
went. “Right you are! Say, the fellow that got that up was on the job,
wasn’t he? Why didn’t you give me this one in the first place?
Wonder if it’s possible to get ’em all in another sentence as short?”
“I think not,” said Aughinbaugh. “It’s been tried. But I don’t share your
admiration for the last one. Besides reeking of militarism abhorrent to
my peaceful disposition, it is stiff, labored, artificial and insincere.
Compare it with the spontaneity, the beauty, the stately cadences,
the sonorous fire, the sweep and swing of the simple, natural appeal:
‘Now is the time for all good men and true to come to the aid of the
party!’”
If it has ever been your privilege to observe a wise old she-bear
watching her cubs at play and to note the expression of her face—
half patience, tolerance, resignation; the remainder pride and
approval—you will know exactly how Jeff looked. As for
Aughinbaugh, he bore himself grandly, chin up. His voice was
vibrant, resonant, purposeful; his eyes glowed with serious and lofty
enthusiasm: no muscle quivered to a smile.
“Why, there is philosophy in it! The one unvarying factor of the
human mind,” he went on, “is the firm, unbiased conviction that I am
right, and all opposition necessarily, consciously and wilfully wrong.
This belief is the base and foundation of all human institutions, of
sectionalism, caste, creeds, parties, states, of patriotism itself. It is
the premise on which all wars are based. Mark, now, how human
nature speaks from its elemental depths in the calm, complacent, but
entirely sincere assumption that all good men and true will be
unconditionally with the party!”
He warmed to his subject; he strode back and forth; he smote open
palm with clenched fist in vehement gesture. Jeff snickered. George
rebuked him with a stern and withering glance.
“I grant you that b, j, k, q, v, x and z are omitted. But what are b, j, k,
q, v, x and z in comparison to the chaste perfection of this immortal
line? Let them fitly typify the bad men and false who do not come to
the aid of the party. Injustice is only what they deserve!”
Consigning b, j, k, q, v, x and z to outer darkness with scornful,
snapping fingers, he poured a glass of water, sipped it slowly, with
resolute suppression of his Adam’s apple, fixed Jeff with another
severe glance, paused impressively, rose to his tiptoes with both
hands outspread, and continued:
“Why, sir, this is the grandest line in literature! It should hang on
every wall, a text worked on a sampler by tender, loving hands! It is a
ready-made watchword, a rallying cry for any great cause! It might
be sung by marching thousands. When, in a great crisis, the mighty
statesman, the intellectual giant between whose puny legs we petty
men do creep and peer about, has proclaimed the Fla-ag in Danger;
has led us to stand at the parting of the ways; has shown that the
nation must make irrevocable choice of good or evil; when our hearts
are thrilled with the consciousness of our own virtue——” he sprang
to a chair and flaunted his handkerchief in rhythmical waves—“this,
then, is his crashing peroration: ‘Now is the time for all good men
and true to come to the aid of the party!’”
Bowing gracefully, he carefully parted imaginary coat-tails and
seated himself, beaming.
Jeff lolled contentedly back in his chair, puffing out clouds of smoke.
“That’s a fine line of talk you get out. You sure did a wise thing when
you quit the bank and took to studying law. You have all the
qualifications for a successful lawyer—or a barker for a sideshow.”
He tapped out his pipe and yawned lazily. “I infer from your slurring
remarks about solemn, silly twaddle that you are not permanently
tagged, classified, labeled and catalogued, politically?”
“I am a consistent and humble follower,” replied George, “of the wise
Democritus, who, as I will explain for the benefit of your benighted
ignorance, is known as the Laughing Philosopher. I laugh. Therefore
I can truthfully say, to paraphrase the words of a famous leader, ‘I
am a Democrit!’”
Jeff showed his teeth. “I guess I am, too—but I didn’t know what it
was till you told me. Now I have a party, at last—and now is the time
for all good men and true—and that reminds me, my young and
exuberant friend, that you have not yet told me when our esteemed
and respected employer intends to return.”
“I do not quite like the tone you adopt in speaking of Mr. Simon
Hibler,” said George icily. “It smacks of irreverence and presumption.
Still less do I relish your persistent reference to him as ‘our’
employer. It amounts to an assumption of a certain equality in our
respective positions that I cannot for an instant tolerate.” He strutted
to the hearthrug and turned his back to the fire; he fiddled with his
watch-chain; tone and manner were heavily pompous. “In a way, of
course, Mr. Hibler might be said to employ us both. But I would have
you realize that a vast gulf separates the social status of a lowly
cow-servant, stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox, from that of an
embryo Blackstone—like myself. I accept a position and receive a
salary. You take a job and draw wages. Moreover, a lawyer’s clerk
marries the youngest daughter and is taken into the firm. By the way,
Hibler has no daughter. I must remind him of this. ‘Hibler &
Aughinbaugh, Counselors at Law.’ That’ll look good in silver letters
on a sanded, dark-blue background, eh, Jefferson? But soft!
methinks my natural indignation has diverted me from your question.
No, my good fellow, I do not know when Mr. Hibler is returning to El
Paso. Are you already tired of urban delights, Mr. Bransford?”
“I was tired of urban delights,” remarked Mr. Bransford, “before you
were out of short dresses. However, I’ve waited this long and I’ll stay
right here in El Paso till he comes. I bore myself some, daytimes, but