Kickass and Peter Rabbit

Beatrix Potter , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, assisting the keeper in sorting through the daily avalanche of things to worry about, has abandoned all else—including the idiotic Supreme Court and the price of gas–to concentrate on the fact that, according to fellow Vista West gardener Richard, a rabbit …
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Kickass and Spoon River Anthology

Gravesite marked with Silhouette of Edgar Lee MastersKenrossalex, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that buried deep in the keeper’s memory landfill is a layer that includes “Spoon River Anthology,” in which Edgar Lee Masters writes free verse epitaphs of those “sleeping on the hill” in his imaginary …
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Kickass and The Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is working with the keeper to try to find something workable in recent Supreme Court decisions; and suggests that having made corporations into people with all of the attendant socially-destructive rights therein, funding religious schools with public …
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Kickass and Children of War

https://mva.gov.ua/, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in welcoming great-grandchildren into their respective clans; and they watch images of the sweet babies, as the incredibly tragic world news carries items of the maiming and slaughter of Ukraine children. The keeper is reminded of some …
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Kickass and Naked Gardening

Tainted Fruit, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, having successfully assisted Phyllis in negotiating “Naked Gardening Day” back in May, is offering his help as “Naked Bike Riding Day” is followed by “Naked Hiking Day,” marking activities that Phyllis once participated in—fully clothed, of course. …
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Kickass and Father’s Day Leftovers

Koburg, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in a Father’s Day leftover that cites the area of useless things fathers taught their offspring; in the keeper’s case that would be harnessing a team of work horses, which was, of course not useless at the time, the keeper …
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Kickass and Father’s Day

Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that if the book of fathers is ever written, its title should be something like “Flying on Empty” or maybe “Brain Surgery Using Chopsticks,” pointing to the verity that no father in history has ever had a complete grasp of just …
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Kickass and POOF

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, having something of an ancestral history with packs, understands the keeper’s desire to form a pack to counter the inane “Proud Boys” pack now emerging as the lead hyenas in the Jan. 6 democracy herd take-down attempt. Recently freed from the burden of feeling …
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Kickass and Fruit Fly Travel

Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper’s Covid timeout has enhanced his efforts to see his recent mountains/glacier travels with Phyllis in a more natural context, perhaps like that of a couple of fruit flies emerging from nowhere to seek some of life’s vague sweetness. If there …
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