The Pen in Hand Blog featuring Bill Stokes
Photo by Phyllis
Category:Humor
Kickass and April Fool
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, defers to the keeper and Phyllis this day in the midst of the calendar confusion that occurs between February and March and which is supposedly corrected by a “Leap year.” This year the February-March confusion was further complicated by the unexpected appearance of the …
Read
Kickass and Dad’s Wagon Rides
Attribution: Photo by Luismi Sánchez on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, turns it over to the keeper on this very windy day to remember a story his dear old dad told of his own boyhood in North Dakota when he hooked his coaster wagon to big tumbleweeds and let the wind pull him across the …
Read
Kickass and Complaints
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper who never aspires to “Good boy!” status, was gratified recently with proof that some of his communication efforts are succeeding in reaching readers. Fellow Vista West residents B and C were among those who took the trouble to respond to …
Read
Kickass and VA Eye Visit
Attribution: Photo by v2osk on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, lends this space to the keeper to update his continuing saga with the VA eye clinic as it treats his advancing macular deterioration–AMD. A three-hour session of examination and consultation with top professionals answered all of the keeper and Phyllis’s questions and assured them that …
Read
Kickass and VA Eye Clinic
Attribution: Marianne O’Leary Creative Commons Attribution 2.0, Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, stays home this morning as the keeper and Phyllis trot off to the VA eye clinic to learn more about the recent changes in the keeper’s AMD–Age relatd Macro Degeneration. After years of careful monitoring and treatment by the …
Read
Kickass and Grandmothers and Granddaughters
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that in his many years of observing human behavior the keeper identifies one of those special relationships between clan members that is a joy to witness: It is the one between grandmothers and granddaughters and it was on full display Sunday as Alexis …
Read
Kickass and Kennedy Center
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, says the keeper and Phyllis regret to inform their fans that they are withdrawing from their non-scheduled Kennedy Center appearance along with other great artists who find it unacceptable to have anything to do with a venue in which the center’s management attic has …
Read
Kickass and the Spoon Player
Attribution: Wolfgang H. Wögerer, Wien, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis were hosted by neighbors Marsha and Jack to sit in on a zoom session with their friends, one of whom did a six-song performance of playing the spoons. It was a remarkable show, …
Read
Kickass and Dog Shelter
Attribution: Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, in an effort to help the keeper and Phyllis understand what contrary things are occurring in their world encourages them to think of themselves as being stray mutts in a corporate-owned animal shelter that has a contract to provide dog meat to North Korea …
Read
Kickass and Going to the Moon
Attribution: NASA / USGS (see PIA04304 catalog page), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, stayed home as the keeper and Phyllis went across the street to the Memorial High School Planetarium for a great “heart”-themed show that refreshed their perspectives that as tiny heaps of casually arranged cells, they …
Read
Kickass and Grandpa TJ
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper’s clan today as it celebrates the birthday of patriarch T. J. Stokes who, if he were still with us, would be 141 years old. Party arrangements and appropriate photo are provided by cousin Pat Turgeson , with fragmentary memories of Grandpa …
Read