Attribution: Photo by Taylor Grote on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, indulges the keeper as he “refishes” a thousand trout streams, often in the company of his mentor John Lawton who taught him about Korbel brandy and the wading rights to streams even as they run through private property. John approached stream rights with a …
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Category:Kickass
Kickass and Little Brother
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in noting that the keeper’s “little” brother Orville, having just turned 89 years old, is no longer enforcing the requirement that the keeper salute him and call him “sir” as dictated by military custom between officers and non-coms. In truth, Orv …
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Kickass and the Mayfly Hatch
Attribution: Davide125, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper’s shaky equilibrium, as Phyllis knows, is so easily tipped off kilter that he should probably be encased in a plastic bubble. This morning it was a bit of gray cottonwood fluff floating by the window, and the …
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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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