Kickass and Blueberry Pie

Attribution: Jessica Spengler, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, listens as the keeper announces the gold medalist of blueberry pie makers as Cyndy A, who also medaled in the soup-making competition as she generously responded to Phyllis’s temporary culinary sidelining due to hip replacement surgery. Lots of people reacted …
Read

Kickass and UW Health

Attribution: Av9, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, fresh from exposure to the sprawling UW health care system as he retrieves Phyllis from her hip replacement surgery, concludes that the modern hospital may be both the ultimate point of civilization’s advance and the most complex …
Read

Kickass and Political Animals

Attribution: Guido Gerding, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in noting that there has been a flurry of internet photos of  Dem. veep candidate Tim Walz holding various animals—dogs, a cat and even a pig, all the while smiling and appearing comfortable in animal company. …
Read

Kickass and New Right Hip

Attribution: Smith & Nephew, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in reporting that Phyllis’s hip joint replacement surgery went well and she will likely return home today.  Not intending to make trouble, but the keeper is a bit concerned that Phillis has a new “right” hip and …
Read

Kickass Welcomes Auggie

Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis and the rest of the herd in welcoming newest member “August” produced by Natalie and Eliot and coming in as a 21-incher as measured in trout-fishing terms. Welcome, August! You are entering a wild old world at a time …
Read

Kickass and Sisters and Brothers

Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, endorses the keeper’s observation that the gathering at the riverside cookout on a recent hot afternoon had a lot to do with Woodington sisters and Stokes brothers with histories dating back to the early days of Madison’s near westside communities. The sisters and brothers …
Read

Kickass and Old Men Talking

Attribution: National Archives at College Park , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the keeper’s amazement at how his old friends age while he—the keeper maintains his “not-long-out-of-high-school” self-image.  So it was with seeing Hal again after 15 or 20 years. Damn, Hal has aged! He is still up …
Read