Attribution: flydime, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that it is apple season and admits that he might have fetched an apple or two in his puppyhood, so he can identify with the keeper’s account of the great apple fight one autumn night in the back alleys of …
Read
Category:Memories
Kickass Has No Regrets
Attribution: Photo by Filip Andrejevic on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, goes against the wisdom that dwelling on regrets is pretty much a waste of time, and allows the keeper to dwell on the regret that when he visited Paris many years ago he did not go see the Eiffel Tower. There is no clear …
Read
Kickass Talks to the Cows
Attribution: StanCoFair, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, noting, along with the keeper, that if they have not already left town, those hundreds of world class cows in Madison this week for the World Dairy Expo are on their way home, or maybe on to the next show ring. …
Read
Kickass Remembering Jerry and George
Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Geoff Carter Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper stumbling across a faded newspaper clipping that detailed one of the tragedies that came to determine the course of his life. And as always the clipping found the keeper and Phyllis reviewing the early tragedy in her life, and how …
Read
Kickass and the Press Pool
Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, hears the keeper out on his account of experiencing the Washington press corps’ wrath for using different strokes while swimming in the press pool aboard the Delta Queen as it floated down the Mississippi with President Jimmy Carter and Rosalyn aboard. Here’s the …
Read
Kickass and 73-Year-Old Notes
Attribution: Photo by Olya P on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper suffering through the unexpected discovery of notes he wrote 73 years ago as he was waiting for his Army discharge and enrollment at the UW “J” School. He will not be sharing the notes with Phyllis as they would demand excessive …
Read
Kickass and Gut Punch Memories
Attribution: Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, turns it over to the keeper on the cool, rainy morning of 9/20/26 with advice on dealing with the gut punches of memory that sometimes knock the wind out of innocent reminiscing. Nobody goes through life without unpleasant experiences of their own making and …
Read
Kickass and the Has-Beens
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper did a little turn-back-the-clock number with the kind help of friends Ken and Joel with a lunch gathering of current “has-beens,” a group that has been in existence since before Pat Lucy left Wisconsin to become ambassador to Mexico. The …
Read
Kickass and Norske Nook Pie
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, agrees with the keeper that there are not many occasions that cannot be improved by a piece of pie, and if it is baked and served at one of the three Norske Nook locations in Wisconsin there is a spiritual quality to the event. …
Read
Kickass and TV Appearance
Photo provided by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper will be retiring from his very brief TV career following his appearance on the Channel 15 evening news with his presence built around the question of just why he was there in the first place. Young TV reporter Kayla gathered enough …
Read
Kickass and Scissors Sharpeners
Attribution: National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, acknowledges Phyllis and turns it all over to the keeper on this day of Aug. 18, 2026. The scissors sharpener came ambling down the country road with his little bundle of worldly goods and a blank expression …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Best 21st Century Drive-In Double Features
Attribution: RoyBuchanan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter A former cultural mainstay of my youth, the drive-in movie theater, is dying a slow death. Once one of the most ubiquitous entertainment institutions in the country—and what could possibly be more American? A venue that combines cars, movies, and parties. Of course. I, and millions …
Read