Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper will be consulting with lawyers to sue his youngest son Mike for lying about his age, which if calculations are accurate, would make the keeper older than Plymouth Rock. The suit will also seek damages for the stress presented by …
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Bought and Paid For
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter The housing market is tough these days. Interest rates are soaring, prices are high, and inventory is low, but none of this is deterring Vladimir Putin, who seems to be ready to become involved in the housing market. He has recently showed significant interest in purchasing the property …
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Kickass and Migration
Attribution: Photo by James Wainscoat on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in proclaiming that he will not cross that bridge when he comes to it, especially if it leads into Baltimore, he will take that “road not taken” hoping it leads to somebody’s woods, and he will be “on the road again” …
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Kickass and Big Money
Attribution: Whoisjohngalt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that as the keeper tries to maintain at least some low-rung position in the increasing have-and-have-not world he wonders how long it will be before basic weather is so controlled by big money interests that he and Phyllis will somehow …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Dream Scenario”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Welcome to My Nightmare: Film Review of Dream Scenario By Geoff Carter Back in the early days of cinema, the gold standard for the sight gag was the pratfall, usually someone slipping on a banana peel. Laughing at someone else’s misfortune always seemed funny—until one considered that the butt of the …
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Kickass and Katie Visit
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, celebrates with the keeper and Phyllis the fact that the only thing better than a grandchild visit is when one—Katie, brings her family—guitar player husband Chris and daughters Bella and Sophia for a personal Sunday afternoon concert and catch-up visit notable for its music …
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Kickass as Movie Critic
Attribution: Lorie Shaull, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper’s credentials as a movie critic ran out sometime shortly after “Bambi” so he was out of his league when he took in “Bad River” at the Fitchburg theatre. After first managing to sit through the incredibly …
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Kickass and Norwegian Women
Attribution: Jonathunder, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, agrees with the keeper that if you are fortunate enough to have had Norwegian women in your life you are one lucky dog. The keeper speaks with the authority of having had a Norwegian mother and all the Norwegin ancestry that went …
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Kickass and the Permanent Baby Bump
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper recruited the photo artistry of Phyllis in updating the “baby bump” photo of five years ago when he posed with “expecting” granddaughter in-laws Lindsey, Ari and Becky; with the keeper’s “bump” indicating at the time that he might be pregnant …
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Kickass and Organ Recitals
Attribution: OpenStax College, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, will be assisting the keeper in promoting his conversation guide for seniors in an effort to put limits on lengthy “organ recitals,” like the one at a recent lunch table with Phyllis, Jane and Donna. (The winning recital had to …
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Grumpy Old Men
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter We are presently living through one of the strangest times in American history. Four years ago, we survived a deadly pandemic and global lockdown. Just three years ago, a mob—instigated by a sitting president—tried to overthrow the 2020 presidential election. Our political institutions, the mainstream media, and justice …
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Kickass and Being 48
Attribution: Stadtarchiv Kiel , CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper asked his and Phyllis’s fellow Vista West residents at a social gathering to comment on something from their lives from when they were 48 years old. Amazingly, it turns out that many people denied ever …
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