Kickass and Canada Fishing

Attribution: See page for author, OGL-ON, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes with the keeper that it is that time of year when hordes of fishermen hook up their boats and head for Canada in ritualistic quests for walleye and northern pike, undaunted by the possibility of misfortune or even disaster. …
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Kickass and the Elevator

Attribution: Xnatedawgx, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in noting that one of the major adjustments in moving into an independent living facility like Vista West is accepting that an elevator will now be a significant fixture in your life. Most VW residents came …
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Kickass and Sibling Rivalry

Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, having had experience as a litter mate, tunes in to the keeper and Phyllis’s sensitivity regarding sibling relationships, particularly as it pertains to being the oldest in their respective families. In the keeper’s case he is not at all reassured that he always treated …
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Kickass and Phyllis’s Show

Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, shares the keeper’s enthusiastic support of Phyllis’s “showbiz” debut with her slide show presentation of her three-month stint as a volunteer at the Mojave Preserve on the California-Nevada border. Her work as an assistant to an archeologist finding and marking historic points was most …
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Kickass and Book from Grandchildren

Attribution: John Benson from Madison WI, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in constantly marveling at their good fortune in having such outstanding grandchildren, and great grandchildren, of course. Periodically there are occurrences that endorse this judgement, and so it was when Nick and …
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Kickass and Old Friends

Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in noting that the combination of old and new friends is often one of those non-age- related pleasures, and such was the case with a meeting of Phyllis’s old Arizona friends Jan and Jim Keane as they stopped by on their …
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Kickass Gets Rained On

Attribution: Photo by Tasos Mansour on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in wondering what the effect might be on an elderly man—real elderly, if he should get seriously rained on due to several highly questionable decisions as one of those booming thunderstorms put its act together with unusual abruptness?  Since he likes …
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Kickass and Dancing with Witches

Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in the conviction that in Madison, adventure is just around the corner as is a certain amount of risk.  Innocently having sought out a Sunday afternoon source of ice cream cones, the keeper took a random right turn onto …
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Kickass and Clint’s Birthday

Attribution: English: “© Universal Pictures”. Photographer unknown., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, pauses with the keeper to wish Clint Eastwood a happy 94th birthday and notes that Clint is still directing movies, cracking jokes and is totally “with it.” This is encouraging for the keeper who is in Clint’s …
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Kickass Goes to Work

Attribution: Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, does not think there is any connection between the gratifying court events of May 30 and Phyllis’s decision to move Kickass off the entry shelf where he has been idling for years and stationing him down on the floor where he can assume …
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