Kickass and the Rainbow

Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, does not spend as much time as the keeper does staring out the window at the passing scene, dominated as it is by a parking lot, a sprawling school complex and a distant view of the state Capitol dome.  It is an ever-changing view, …
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Kickass and Summer Sounds

Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis have a new appreciation for the summer sounds that come in through the screen door:          *The non-stop chirping of sparrows.          *The clang and bang of construction at the school across the street.          *The laughter and shouting of children from …
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Kickass and Satch All-Stars

Bowman Gum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in celebrating yet one more All-Star game day by remembering the one 70 years ago in Cincinnati when he and a friend, both just back from Korea, became impromptu members of an RKO Movie News crew with pre-game …
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Kickass and Exercise Value

Jessica Hines, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports on the scene in the exercise room at Vista West: Dorothy at 90 on one stationary bike, the keeper at older- than-that, on another, Phyllis only in her early 80’s, on the treadmill. They pedal and pump and pace, and if …
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Kickass and Shooting Flowers

Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the following note from the keeper and Phyllis’s visit to the spectacular flower displays now in explosive blooming at the UW West Madison Agricultural Research Station next to the cemetery just off Mineral Point Road. Oh what to do about flowers? See …
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Kickass and All-Star Trade

Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, with his unique lines of communication, has intercepted the following press message:          “In a major trade prior to the annual All-Stupid Washington DC Allstar game–next Tuesday, the Dem Wokes will …
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Kickass and Dash Veto

Lisacheese, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in celebrating the “dash” that Gov. Evers vetoed in the state budget to save public school funding   for the next 400 years. By changing “2024-25” to “2425” the former educator did something decent for Wisconsin kids on into an uncertain …
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Kickass and 4th of July Shooters

Attribution: Marcin n® ☼, recreated from scratch by Quibik, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper on this 4th of July listening to the echoes of explosives out of Philadelphia as four people die in the 29th mass shooting of the year to bring the total US dead to 2,900 …
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Kickass and Inane Fireworks

Photo by Arthur Chauvineau on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper will be joining the dogs under the porch or the bed or any other place that shields him from the inanity of 4th of July fireworks. From backyard boom freaks to soaring commercial rocket excesses, the keeper sees the use of explosives …
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