Attribution: Photos by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis shared an entertainment exercise with fellow Vista West residents in which the challenge was to identify baby photos with current subjects. While the results were mixed, there was one verity: at one point in their lives every …
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Month:January 2024
Kickass Has Battery Woes
Attribution: New York Public Library, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that the keeper has lived with car battery woes his entire long life and it isn’t over yet—the battery woes, that is, as a Subaru battery warranty issue involves a loaner car and an indefinite wait as …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies
Artwork by Michael DiMilo The Oscars: A No-Win Situation By Geoff Carter Like many fans of the cinema, we at The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies took a keen interest in the announcement of the 2024 Academy Award nominations, mostly because 2023 was such a phenomenal year for films. From the cutting-edge, envelope-pushing …
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Kickass Goes Ice Fishing
Attribution: Anneli Salo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in noting how the unusual winter weather has set up Wisconsin as an ice-fishing mecca; and as descended from a father who viewed the weird sport in religious terms, the keeper recalls with fond memories occasionally joining …
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Kickass and Old Love
Attribution: Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, considers himself fortunate to share living quarters with the keeper and Phyllis as the two of them fill their days with one project after another and try to participate in Vista West community living. Phyllis, as a photo artist and computer acrobat, and …
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Kickass and the Old Bridge
Attribution: Randen Pederson from Superior, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, thinks that by now the keeper should be accustomed to seeing the destruction and replacement of the many things he remembers being built—shopping malls, huge business complexes and roads and bridges, like the Blatnik bridge connecting Superior and …
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Kickass Remembers Louie
Attribution: Photo by Wesley Mc Lachlan on Unsplash Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in noting the life and death of Louie Lancaster, a gimp legged little old bachelor who worked as the neighborhood hired man during the keeper’s growing up years. Louie came to northwest Wisconsin from somewhere in Illinois as the Great Depression was winding …
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Kickass and Writing Helpers
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in noting that while writing is mostly a solitary undertaking, the mechanics of getting words out to readers involves many others on both personal and professional levels. Currently for the keeper the capable hands of Phyllis keep him in the game with …
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The Invisible Man
Attribution: Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter How can a president of the United States be so ignored, overshadowed, and underappreciated? How can the monumental accomplishments of this man, our current commander-in-chief, be so quickly forgotten? He almost single-handedly lifted our nation out of the Covid crisis and jump-started our economy. But he gets …
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Dialogues on the Monsters Among Us: Are We Not Men?
Attribution: Vinnytsia , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., Paul C., and Geoff Carter Hey bots, I was flipping around on the TV the other night and happened upon Ordinary Men, a World War II documentary on Netflix. I usually don’t get to watch these …
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Kickass and Oil Barrel Drums
Attribution: Steelasophical, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in posing the question: can the senior residents of an Independent Living facility be satisfactorily entertained by a man using sticks to pound on what was once part of a 55-gallon oil barrel? If the facility is Vista …
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The Pen in Hand Presents “The Writer’s Corner”
Attribution:Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash Featuring the Latest Publications, News, and Commentary for Authors and Readers Today’s New Book: “From Hardship to Hope: Crossing the Great Divides of age, race, wealth, equity and health” by Judith Gwinn Adrian and Jaylin Steuber Photo by Judith Adrian Book Description From Hardship to Hope: Crossing the great divides of age, …
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