Attribution: Photo by Vitolda Klein on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, loafed with the keeper and Phyllis in front of the wide-open door as the waning daylight lost its sun-stored warmth and its luminating powers. Somewhere out there, invisible in the evolving late October night, a lighted playground full of children produced a joyous non-stop …
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Category:Aging
Kickass and Complaint Shortage
Attribution: No machine-readable author provided. Adam the atom assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports an emotional crisis at Vista West where the keeper and Phyllis live when a day of absolutely perfect weather along with family visiting and a Packer victory over the …
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Kickass and Vista West Memories
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, paused with the keeper and Phyllis yesterday for a memory service for the 34 residents who have died at Vista West during the five years it has been open. Considering a resident population of less than 200, some simple math might produce a death …
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Kickass Has No Regrets
Attribution: Photo by Filip Andrejevic on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, goes against the wisdom that dwelling on regrets is pretty much a waste of time, and allows the keeper to dwell on the regret that when he visited Paris many years ago he did not go see the Eiffel Tower. There is no clear …
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Kickass and 73-Year-Old Notes
Attribution: Photo by Olya P on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper suffering through the unexpected discovery of notes he wrote 73 years ago as he was waiting for his Army discharge and enrollment at the UW “J” School. He will not be sharing the notes with Phyllis as they would demand excessive …
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Kickass and Gut Punch Memories
Attribution: Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, turns it over to the keeper on the cool, rainy morning of 9/20/26 with advice on dealing with the gut punches of memory that sometimes knock the wind out of innocent reminiscing. Nobody goes through life without unpleasant experiences of their own making and …
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Kickass and Being Average
Attribution: Mario Purisic mariopurisic, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is with the keeper in sensing that dwelling on the downside of getting old is a boring subject and tends to be overdone by anyone over the age of 60. In the extreme upper levels of aging, dwelling on it …
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Kickass and THE Birthday Party
Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper surviving the assembly of his clan to mark his 95th birthday. By all measures it was a rousing success and the keeper thanks all those who had a role in it. And that is it for Kickass today as he tiptoes …
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Kickass and Old Age Demonstrations
Attribution: NASA/Carla Thomas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, will be attending the family gathering today to mark the keeper’s 95th birthday, and suggests that maybe too much is being made of one number in a series that the keeper plans to keep going until decency returns to the White …
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Kickass Shares the 9/11 Date
Attribution: Yolanl, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, has not received a personal invitation to sit at the Legacy Table with the keeper and Phyllis today as Vista West celebrates its 5th birthday, but he might show up anyway. This upcoming weekend of marking special dates is a bit overwhelming …
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Kickass and Phyllis’s Dancing School
Photo provided by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper announces the tentative opening of the Phyllis School of Impromptu Dance and Acrobatics after her recent spectacular demonstration. It began as Phyllis was pivoting with a handful of books, whereupon she executed a partial reverse rotation, stepped off-balance past the …
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Kickass and Haircut Memories
Attribution: F. Holland Day, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper has been patronizing the school across the parking lot for his haircuts, enjoying the attention of a young ambitious student who snips at him gently under an instructor’s instructions. Like all things in the keeper’s …
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