Attribution: DHSgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in sending the following message to the thousands of ICE agents who daily come with uniforms and masks and guns and clubs and bulletproof vests to assault harmless berry pickers and day laborers and cow milkers …
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Month:June 2025
Kickass and Two Flat Tires
Attribution: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is with the keeper this morning as he says “Oh, to hell with it, let’s go fishing!” The time is many years ago as the keeper and trout fishing companion John Lawton suspend evening …
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Kickass and ICE
Attribution: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, says the keeper would like to inform the ICE gestapo goons that as a descendent of Norwegian immigrants on his mother’s side he will not be going peacefully when the loony- tune squads arrive all masked up …
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Little Tin God
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter When I was growing up, back in the sixties, we used to play war all the time. We’d grab our plastic carbines, helmets, fatigues, and run around the backyard pretending to shoot each other. Amidst cries of “Got you” and “Did not” and “Only grazed me”, we became—in …
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Kickass and River Remembering
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports on some of the keeper’s gang “gathering at the river” on yet another attempt at standardizing clan memories while soaking up warm sunshine and listening to the birds. It is, of course, common that when families get together for “remembering” excesses, there are …
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Kickass and a Fishing Lie
Attribution: Photo by Jed Owen on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper in this age of lies and more lies, recalls “The Good Lie,” which was the title of a story of his that appeared in the June 1993 issue of Sports Afield magazine. It was about an old man–Ben Lusby and …
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Kickass and Captured Killer
Attribution: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis, along with everyone else in the Midwest, relieved at the capture of the Minnesota murderer from his hiding in a wooded area. And of course, it recalls for the keeper the long-ago murder of three …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Alto Knights”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★☆☆ Comfort Food: Review of The Alto Knights By Geoff Carter The Mafia is an American institution. So is the gangster film. From Little Caesar, White Heat, and The Public Enemy to The Godfather—the definitive mother of all modern gangster movies, Goodfellas, The Irishman, A Bronx Tale, The Sopranos, and Casino, the culture of organized crime, including sit-downs, …
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Happy 2025 Father’s Day from the Pen in Hand
Happy Father’s Day!! Photo by Kris Carter
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: A Tribute to Father’s Day
Photo by Sabine van Straaten on Unsplash A Tribute to Father’s Day: Ten Unforgettable Celluloid Dads By Geoff Carter (Originally published June 12th, 2023) It’s that time of year when we’re once again celebrating the patriarch, the pater familia, the big man, the king daddy, and the head of the family. It’s Father’s Day. Master of the grill, …
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Kickass and Birthday Parade
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper is happy with the birthday celebration and parade over the weekend. He wished a very happy 90th birthday to his brother Orville at the lunch party that included their 91-year-old sister Norma and Orv’s daughter Lea. And then later there was a …
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Kickass and Thelma and Louise
Photo by Geoff Carter By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper’s dream revision of the closing scene in Thelma and Louise as being appropriate for this day when an out-of-control ICE posse moves close enough to stink up the action. As the keeper dreams it, with everyone panicked in the backseat as …
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