Photo by cottonbro: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-chicken-in-cage-4911706/ By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, on this egg-dominated Easter morning, is not sure just where he stands on the request the keeper made to Vista West director Jeanne to keep a small flock of chickens on the 5th floor balcony where he and Phyllis live. Despite having …
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Kickass and Jan’s Death
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper’s sad news from his sister Norma that her daughter Jan died unexpectedly in her sleep, leaving behind a devastated mother and family, and uncle, who experienced the loss of a daughter several years ago. JAN Death dances in life’s conga line …
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Down the Rabbit Hole: Easter in Chicago
Barhopping Bunnies Photos by Geoff Carter
Kickass and the Easter Bunny
Photo by Geoff Carter By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper decided to replace his worn-out electric razor rather than let his moth-eaten beard grow for the rest of his days, which would have him looking like an over-worked waiter at the last supper; and so he—the keeper, visited Walmart and …
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Kickass and the Wind
www.Pixel.la Free Stock Photos, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, in his relentless efforts to be helpful, lists a few tips for surviving the high winds predicted for today and tomorrow: One. Stay inside with the cats and look out at people walking …
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The Good Fight
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter As awful and unfortunate as the last two years have been—a time that included the Covid epidemic and its economic fallout, the 2020 presidential election and the subsequent January 6th insurrection, and the George Floyd murder and BLM activism—the war in Ukraine is beyond horrible. In some ways, the …
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Kickass and Evolution of Putin
DonkeyHotey, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, fresh from having a needle poked into his eye as a sight preservation measure, marvels at the medical world’s discovery of such treatment; but his astonishment takes a back seat to the euphoria produced by the likes of …
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Kickass and Caddy Image
Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that the keeper and his ilk are inclined to date themselves by referring to items and events that correlate to their early years, such as the keeper’s frequently used comment that he is as old as a …
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Kickass and A Walk in the Woods
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, fresh from reading The Overstory, where Richard Powers relates trees to humans, walked in the woods with son Larry to assess the kill of ash trees by the invasive emerald ash borer. The walk included pauses at many of the …
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Old School Cinema: The Way We Were
Siebbi, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter In his recent Harper’s article “Il Maestro”, Martin Scorsese laments that today’s film industry has become so centered on profiteering that—in the world of marketing algorhythms and streaming platforms—cinematic art has been relegated to the same level as any type of streaming content, be it a commercial, …
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Kickass and Old Newlyweds
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that Phyllis is off to Ohio to visit her daughter Gina and family, while the keeper heads for Minnesota to spend time with son Larry and offspring at his “driftless” trout/deer cabin. Phyllis flies, the keeper drives, which may exemplify the respective circumstances …
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Kickass and Moral Procrastination
President Biden, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, hears the keeper comment that 157 years after the end of the Civil War there is great rejoicing that a Black women will become a member of the Supreme Court. At this rate of moral procrastination, the War …
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