formulanone from Huntsville, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter As I mentioned in last week’s post, my wife and I recently took a long cross-country road trip from the mean streets of Milwaukee to the enthralling natural beauty of New Mexico. Part—most of—the trip was spent on Interstate Highway 80 and …
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Kickass and Price of Gas
Daniel Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, failed in his attempt to prevent the keeper from participating in April-as-poetry-month, and he apologizes for that. THE PRICE OF GAS On stopping at the gas pumps In the company of grumps, Carrying a bucket of money, For …
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Kickass and the Poll Workers
Terri Sewell , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, having screwed up an absentee ballot, was rescued by the patient ladies at his polling place as they provided the kind of hand-holding the keeper’s ineptness requires. The simple routine of voting was the highlight of …
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Kickass Votes for Phyllis
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, has no plans to accompany the keeper to the polls today to vote in the municipal election, but he will be watching to make sure the keeper votes for those candidates who have proven that they are decent human beings and not egocentric jerks: …
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Kickass and Moral Posting
BakeNecko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, informs the keeper that his—the keeper’s seeming ability to ignore the slaughter and suffering of millions of his planetary partners while producing lighthearted commentary about his personal ride on the big ball, does not speak to indifference, but to a coping …
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A Dog Eat Dog World
FLC001, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Film Review of The Power of the Dog By Geoff Carter Chronicling the inner world of fictional characters is part and parcel of literature. Since the days of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and the modernistic stylings of Vladimir Nabokov and James Joyce, novelists have sought to explain the foibles of …
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Kickass and Clan Feast
Mark Miller, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper was reassured that his clan has survived the Covid calamity by an impromptu gathering instigated by son Mike who cooked a big pot roast and announced late in the day, that it would be consumed at Becky …
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Kickass and Talking Trees
Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, has been working with the keeper in the burgeoning field of other life forms—like trees and other plants, having here-to-fore unknown abilities to communicate with each other, and with humans: if you are of a certain mindset and you take a walk in the woods—the …
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Kickass and April 1st
Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, having won the lottery of several million dollars, will be tossing $100 bills off his Vista West balcony throughout this day of Apr. 1, 2022. In keeping with the custom of the day, the keeper urges anyone catching one …
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In Nebraska
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I recently had occasion to take a long cross-country road trip, spanning the Midwest, Colorado, and New Mexico. It’s a grueling ride, taking over twenty hours, but the pain is worth it. Driving through the plains and rolling hills and sometimes bleak plains offers the opportunity to get …
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Kickass and Weather Phrases
Brian0918 at en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, in assisting the keeper as he tries to see something good in everything, including the Wisconsin winter that refuses to yield to spring, points out that the incredibly stupid political events of the immediate past have produced a plethora …
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Kickass and the Brooder House
Photo by Zoe Schaeffer on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, suggests to the keeper that it may be time to reinsert into his chaotic life a “brooder house,” like the one he remembers from his boyhood farm days where he was wont to spend time in the small, Quonset hut-shaped structure soaking up the warmth …
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