Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, once again tries to console the keeper in his post-Halloween disappointment at not having the imagination to convert his outhouse-dated Halloween history into something equally stupid, like tipping over a bathroom. Since a brief attempt at trick-or-treating with a shot glass back …
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Category:Holidays
Kickass and Alien 4th of July
Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is in receipt of a decoded message from outer space that reads as follows: “The entire population of that Earth country claiming to be among the most enlightened, once again gathered in the first darkness of an …
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Kickass and Fireworks Downside
Photo by Kristian Løvstad on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper recalls the 4th of July when, as a Trib columnist, he wrote that fireworks had a downside and were maybe not the greatest symbol of independence celebrating. Chicago readers reacted predictably with nasty letters to the editor demanding that the keeper be run …
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Happy Father’s Day
From The Pen in Hand Blog To all you fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandchildren, and more… Enjoy this treat…. “A Little Tooth” a poem by Thomas Lux, from poets.org Have a great Father’s Day!!
Kickass and Memorial Day Memories
Photo by P. Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass the doorstop dog, will be assisting the Keeper and Phyllis as they recuperate from a Family-filled Memorial Day weekend which proved the following: *Visiting Sate Street and UW environs makes you feel both young and old. *Watching toddlers play on the river beach sand causes you to …
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Kickass Remembers R. B. Curtis
Photographes du National Geographic, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, assists the keeper in memorializing R. B. (Rolland) Curtis, Wisconsin’s most decorated WW I soldier who was a mentor of sorts when the keeper was sorting through the debris of pending adulthood in Barron County. On a fishing excursion, …
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Kickass and Korean Artillery Shell
“Arlington National Cemetery on a Sunday Morning” Clynnwersch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, excuses the keeper for getting personal with his Memorial Day thoughts, specifically how the artillery shell that buried him in Korean dirt and debris could have been a foot or so different and might have …
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Kickass Remembers Mama
By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in saluting all mothers, and listening to him—the keeper, as he repeats the universal refrain that his was the best mother who—as he once wrote, would stand on two broken legs to make you a lunch so you could go fishing—on Mother’s Day. As with …
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Kickass and Egg Hunt Covid
By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, fresh off the family Easter egg hunt at Kim and Dick’s where he competed successfully with a half dozen little professional egg hunters, is happy to join Phyllis in noting Wisconsin’s great Covid 19 vaccination record, particularly as compared to Florida where a big …
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Kickass and the Easter Chicken
By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, assists the keeper in passing along the following all- American Easter story which has been authenticated by Mother Goose and Rachel Maddow. “Once upon a time, birds ruled the egg world. This meant that chickens, as the chief domesticated bird, were in charge of all egg occasions, including …
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Falling Star
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoffrey Carter During the past few weeks, I’ve heard more than a few people say that Christmas just doesn’t feel right this year. I think I know what they mean. My family and I have followed all our usual traditions—hanging the lights, trimming the tree, baking the cookies, and wrapping …
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Blue Christmas
Artwork by Michael DiMilo As we were trimming the tree last weekend, my wife asked me to bring in the laptop so we could listen to Christmas music. I complied—as any trained husband will—and set up the sound system in our dining room. And so we trimmed the tree and drank some wine and listened …
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