Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper has forever had a weakness for tavern hamburgers—with a slice of raw, a little mustard, fries and served with cold beer, of course. He was thus indulged when he and Phyllis met Phyllis’s son Todd and granddaughter Alexis at the …
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Category:Family
Kickass Talks to Mom
Attribution: asobuno, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that every morning the keeper has a conversation with his mother: KEEPER: “Thanks, Mom, for teaching me how to tie my shoes.” MOM: “You’re welcome, Billy. Have a nice day!” The “mom” conversation is the reason the keeper sticks with …
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Kickass and Sisters
Attribution: Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons / “Vancouver (BC, Canada), Canada Place, Kanadaflagge — 2022 — 1896” / CC BY-SA 4.0 By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is happy to report that the visit of Phyllis’s Canadian sister Joan and husband Bill, was judged by the keeper as a success in that all of the sister’s numerous family members were discussed and …
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Kickass and Kyle’s Screening
Photo by Douglas Bagg on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis, having sat in on a screening of nephew Kyle Houseman-Stokes’s movie “My Dead Friend Chloe,” featuring Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris among others, passes along the word that Kyle has done himself proud in navigating the forbidding world of …
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Kickass and Grandchildren
Attribution: Photo by Ben White on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in noting that the only thing better than a visit by a grandchild is another visit by a grandchild, the observation prompted by a visit from Bud and his wife Jessica. Bud was a “preemie”– 23 ounces and a …
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Kickass and Four Sons
Attribution: Photo by Ben White on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that if there is one thing the keeper taught his four sons it was the virtue of procrastination, so they will be fine with the keeper dealing late with “sons’ day.” Raising four sons during the long-hair hippy days, when the abject stupidity …
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Kickass and Grandkids
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, stayed home with Phyllis when the keeper drove across town to watch grandson Beau perform lumber making miracles with his portable sawmill. It was most impressive—Beau manipulating misshapen ash logs into usable planks and boards with deft touches of complicated controls. It is agreed …
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Kickass and Ziggy’s Birthday Party
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper came away with a number of questions after he and Phyllis attended Ziggy’s 3rd birthday party on a sandy Wisconsin River beach where there was a platoon of little ones from diapered on up. 1. Can the parents of a diaper-wearing infant …
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Kickass Remembers Pat
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper today in remembering his daughter Pat who died suddenly four years ago after a routine heart pacer installation. Nobody loved life more and did more to wring the fun and adventure out of it than Pat. Nobody was more creative, and …
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Kickass Cruising the River
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis were “Cruising down the river on a Sunday afternoon,” with the keeper recalling some of the lyrics from the 1946 hit song that includes “With one you love, the sun above, waiting for the moon.” Along the river …
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Kickass and Uncle Ralph
Attribution: National Archives and Records Administration , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, accompanies the keeper on a memory jaunt back to recall one of his wonderful uncles and the magic of the threshing crew. The tradition of farm women preparing noontime feasts for the neighboring farmers who had assembled …
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Kickass and Visiting Granddaughters
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, labels the keeper a “lucky dog” in that he was on hand when Phyllis’s granddaughters–Alexis and Taylor paid her an overnight visit. Alexis brought along her dog Kai so the keeper would have a conversation companion as Phyllis and Alexis and Taylor reminisced about …
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