Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper would wish his younger sister a happy 92nd birthday today but he knows she would bring up the occasion of his telling her that if she held the tennis racket in front of her face it would protect her from the …
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Category:Wisconsin
Kickass Talks to Deer Hunters
Attribution: English: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, endorses the keeper’s message to Wisconsin deer hunters at 6:45 am on this opening morning of Nov. 23, 2024: “Deer hunters: “Good morning to one and all out there in the blaze orange brigade. It looks to be an overcast …
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Kickass Gets Ready for the Hunt
Attribution: National Archives at College Park , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper’s dilemma in waking up with the strong sensation that he must spend the day preparing for something, but it was not clear just what that was. Finally, it dawned on him that this was …
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Time of the Season
The Pen in Hand Blog
Illustration by Michael DiMilo
Kickass and “On Wisconsin”
Attribution: Corey Coyle, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis’s post-election survival as they note that the sun came up and moved in its usual path over Wisconsin’s Capital dome, pausing briefly to shine on the state motto of “Forward,” and lighting up the new …
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Kickass and Tree Lane
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, napped while the keeper and Phyllis strolled up Tree Lane next to Vista West on an unseasonably warm late October afternoon, stopping often to identify uncommon tree species, and marveling at the trees’ spectacular demonstration of another season of growth and life in the …
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Kickass and Prom Election
Attribution: See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, allows the keeper to use a personal example of the importance of a single vote in determining election outcomes. The year was 1948 and the election was for junior prom king at Barron High School. It pitted Eddie …
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Kickass and Hunting
Attribution: Photo by Daniel J. Schwarz on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper accepts his “predator” identification and recalls how he enjoyed exercising it over decades of hunting birds and animals, especially at this time of year when he wallowed in the beautiful transition of the seasons with weapon in hand and …
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Kickass and October 11, 1940
Attribution: markbyzewski, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, under the impression that the keeper had a memory for all occasions, is disappointed that he has no specific recall of Oct. 11, 1940, a day that began with warm shirtsleeve weather and turned into a vicious blizzard across the upper …
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Kickass and Missing Summer
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis will be leading the search to find out just what the hell happened to the summer of 2024. Here we are well into the autumn of 2024 with no clear sense of there ever having been a 2024 …
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Kickass and Florida Trade
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the keeper’s news that several deals between Wisconsin and Florida have been delayed by hurricane Helene, one being the exchange of Fla. Gov. DeSantis for Wis Sen. Johnson, and another having to do with a trainload of Fla. oranges for one of …
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Kickass and Bird Migration
Attribution: David Whelan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis, forever attempting to establish their compatibility with the other creatures, woke up this morning of Sept. 23 with a strange sense of motion that they could not identify until they tuned in to the Cornell …
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