Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in being awed by Phyllis’s casual innovation of the 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle genre, a popular form of entertainment that has remained unchanged forever. In working her puzzle, a gift from her daughter Gina, Phyllis used much of a kitchen counter to …
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Kickass and 2025 as a Model A
Attribution: Lars-Göran Lindgren Sweden, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, having sampled an entire day of 2025, has consulted with Phyllis and decided to go through the year identifying himself as a car, which in his case would be a Model A Ford made the …
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Eating Our Young
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter America has always been full contradictions (the more cynical among us might say hypocrisies). It is a place where anyone with enough spunk, luck, and wherewithal can become rich and powerful, but it is also a country where abject poverty runs rampant. It is a place where people …
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Happy New Year’s Day from The Pen in Hand Blog
Geoff Carter and Company wish you a very Happy, Prosperous, and Safe 2025!! Attribution: HitomiAkane, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Auld Lang Syne by The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin
Kickass and Dryer Flying
Attribution: Baron Maddock, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper welcoming the new year by announcing that from where he most often does his best planning he can hear the clothes dryer out in its hall closet and as it heads into the spin cycle it sounds …
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Jimmy Carter: A Man for All Seasons
Attribution: Tuntematon, Valkoisen talon valokuvaajat (01/20/1977 – 01/20/1981), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter President of the United States, master diplomat, naval officer, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Jimmy Carter was also a man who lived in the same Plains, Georgia ranch home he had bought as a young man, who …
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Kickass Goodbye to Jimmy
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper joining the world to bid adieu to Jimmy and to recall one more time the wonderful experience of floating down the Mississippi on the Delta Queen for three days with Jimmy and Roselyn during Jimmy’s POTUS time. The opportunity to swap …
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The Pen in Hand’s Guide to the Movies: Ringing in the New Year
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash By Geoff Carter We’re almost there. We only have one more day of 2024 to endure. It’s been a year of firsts. Some we would like to celebrate, others not so much. But New Year’s Eve is a time to look forward to fresh starts and renewed aspirations. It’s a time of hope …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Film Review of “Queer”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo A Man in Need : Film Review of Queer ★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter William S. Burroughs was one of the giants of the Beat Generation, helping to define the disaffection of an entire generation. This alienation was reflected in his body of literary work as well as the recent film adaptation …
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Kickass and Grandchildren
Attribution: Eric Ward, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the keeper’s inability to deal with the fact that his first grandchild was born 50 years ago when Katie came into the world as a flawless “19-incher,” the keeper at the time being heavily into trout fishing and its …
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Kickass and Dead Butt
Attribution: Missouri State Archives, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the keeper’s delight in finally getting a diagnosis for the troublesome malady that has obviously plagued him throughout his life–“The dead butt syndrome,” or “gluteal amnesia” to the physical therapists. The dead butt syndrome is brought on …
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Kickass and Bird Talk
Attribution: Alan D. Wilson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper calling up his special abilities to communicate with all creatures and passing along comments from some of the birds regarding the recent presidential proclamation making the Bald Eagle the official national bird. *Turkey–“We have Thanksgiving nailed …
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