Attribution: National Archives at College Park , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the keeper’s amazement at how his old friends age while he—the keeper maintains his “not-long-out-of-high-school” self-image. So it was with seeing Hal again after 15 or 20 years. Damn, Hal has aged! He is still up …
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Month:July 2024
Kickass and Doddering
Attribution: Sonny doe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper does his best to deny his identity as a doddering old man, but occasionally the truth emerges as it did in a recent grocery check-out line when the keeper held things up as he fumbled with …
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Kickass and Bear Hounds
Attribution: kikiciao, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in his periodic rant about Wisconsin being the ONLY state where the outrageous summer bear hound training is not only allowed but promoted to attract bear hounders from all over the country who come to Wis. in July …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: The Legacy of Woody Allen
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter He is a legendary filmmaker whose career has spanned fifty-some years—and has worked with everyone from Diane Keaton to Cate Blanchett to Scarlett Johannson to John Cusack to Michael Caine—and more. He has worked in nearly every film genre imaginable—slapstick, romantic comedy, historical features, mystery, documentary, psychological drama–everything …
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Kickass and Chinook Camping
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in lamenting the undeniable verity that their camping days are in the past, but the memories prevail including those that involved the keeper’s wonderful little Chinook RV with its unique military-type appearance, diesel engine and “Lets go” character. One …
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Yearly Cycle
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Every year during the last week of July, the Milwaukee Riverwest neighborhood, an eclectic enclave of artists, musicians, families, and working folks, hosts the Riverwest 24, a twenty-four-hour bicycle race that runs along the neighborhood streets. According to the Riverwest 24 website, the event came about because of efforts by …
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Kickass and Olde Olympics
Attribution: Vusi vilanculos, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis watched from their recliners as the worlds most accomplished young people floated down the Seine in the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics. While the Olympics must necessarily focus on youth at the top of …
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Kickass and the Cellular Cycle
Attribution: Photo by Gabriel Jimenez on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis were both impressed by information posted by Scott Marrese-Wheeler that each human is composed of 84 minerals, 23 elements, 8 gallons of water divided among 38 billion cells, and these cells will inevitably be recycled in some other …
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Kickass and Phyllis’s Garden
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along word that the keeper is declaring war on the rabbit that is invading Phyllis’s raised garden and eating the tomatoes that the keeper had plans for. The keeper remembers asking his aged father on one of dad’s later birthdays what he had …
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Stranger than Fiction
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter When I was kid, we used to be able to order paperback books in school from The Arrow Book Club, a division of Scholastic Books. I remember eagerly looking through the order form at titles like 13 Spooky Stories, A Wonderful Trip to the Mushroom Planet, The Forgotten Door, or …
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Kickass and the Weinermobile
Attribution: connect the dots from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, pitifully unable to turn in all of his “PRESS” credentials, will be working the top story of the day, that being that one of the Oscar Meyer wienermobiles tipped over on …
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Kickass Accepts Aging
Attribution: Andreas Bohnenstengel, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in suggesting one way to experience empathy for Joe as he decides to do a POTUS hand off is to compare it to the decision to sell the house and move to an independent living facility …
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