Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joined the keeper and Phyllis and the rest of the clan in cheering on the newest member—Auggie, as he mastered the simple act of walking and quickly moved on to running, with occasional falls that were of no more consequence than a hiccup. “Those …
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Category:Family
Kickass and the Family Fixers
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis participating as observers in one of those family gatherings called to fix something that needs fixing where the potential contractor cost would approach the price of a good used car. It is always best to stage these “fix” events …
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Kickass and Older Cousins
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis were on hand when 16-month-old Augie experienced one of the greatest days of his life at four-year-old Blaize’s birthday party. It happened at one of the clan’s river-rat haunts and it was the day Augie met a passel …
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Kickass and Canadian Visitors
Attribution: Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in welcoming Phyllis’s sister and brother-in-law Joan and Bill from Saskatchewan where Phyllis was born and raised and where, from time to time she has expressed a desire to return to. The visit talk has not yet dealt …
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Kickass and Great-Grandson’s Letter
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, looks over the keeper’s shoulder to see that he finally received a piece of mail that was a refreshing departure from the advertising junk that normally clogs up his and Phyllis’s mailbox. The meaningful mail was a personally printed letter from great grandson Trevor, …
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Kickass and the Wisconsin River
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis’s relationships with rivers has been long and varied, and in the keeper’s case fraught with challenge, particularly with the Wisconsin River where ambitious river projects have often turned to minor disasters and embarrassment. An example might be the expedition …
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Kickass and Seventh Anniversary
Attribution: Photo by Natalie Kinnear on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reminds the keeper that he is a lucky man in that when he forgot it was his and Phyllis’s 7th wedding anniversary until it was too late to really celebrate it, so had Phyllis. Engrossed in a variety of personal projects, the anniversary day slipped …
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Kickass and Menopause
Attribution: Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper wondering how he might upgrade the evolutionary status of old men to match that of old women who, after they are no longer able to bear children, are still seen by the one and only evolutionary …
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Kickass and Remembering at Easter
Attribution: Photo by Jerrick Castillo on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis and their Easter dinner guests in a post ham-dinner stupor lingering over dessert and coffee exchanging childhood memories. Some of those recited memories were old enough to have long beards and others from younger Easter eaters were as in-tune …
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Kickass and Old Kids
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper pretty much denying birthdays, especially his own, but also those of his children who have somehow gotten so old they creak and limp. Even the youngest—Mike, who reportedly is now 70 years old and does not have the decency to lie …
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Kickass and the Birthday Snowstorm
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reveals that the keeper is responsible for the big storm having ordered it as a birthday present for Phyllis. His thinking was that having been born in Canada, Phyllis must like snow, so he ordered lots of it for her birthday which, being the …
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Kickass and Phyllis’s Birthday
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, hands off to the keeper on this Friday the 13th, 2025, when it is compulsory to talk about bad luck and the weather, there being a foot of snow forecast for Sunday. The keeper may amp up his preparations for March 16, it being …
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