Kickass Remembers Earth Days by Bill Stokes

Attribution: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Gabrielle Spalding, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

By Bill Stokes

Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis and the multitudes on this Earth Day to salute its originator—Gaylord Nelson, and in the keeper’s case, to remember a few personal contacts with the classiest senator Wisconsin ever had.

There was the canoe convoy down the Namekagon River on one of the earliest Earth Days when Nelson in a canoe with a local Native American, led the canoeists into a stiff head wind for 20 miles or so on the beautiful tree-lined river.

There was the time the Senator went out of his way to personally message the keeper that Carrie Lee, Gaylord’s wife had been particularly entertained by some of the keeper’s writing about John Lawton, Gaylord’s former law partner and subsequently the keeper’s long-time fishing, hunting and escapade partner.

On the occasion of this 2026 Earth Day with a combination of White House ignorance and arrogance giving the Boundary Waters to the billionaire miners, there may be reason for gloom.

FORGET that!

Follow the example of the Lodi Wisconsin school district and plant 2,000 trees, one for each student in the district and then follow the students’ advice to “grow together.”

(You might also read “TREESON an APOLOGIA To Trees,” the keepers book about some of his misadventures, available through Amazon or from him–$10 plus shipping at billstokesauthor.com)