(edited to correct an embarrassing lack of proofreading) In case you were too busy this week, let’s review what you missed:  Some time must have passed since a runaway forest fire destroyed the Crypto Event, because the fire appears to be out, and investigators are on site. After an interrogation by an officer of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Mark and Happy Trail were not only cleared of wrongdoing, but made to feel like chumps, out of touch and underpaid. We also learned that the Crypto Brothers somehow got out of town and escaped to what appeared to be Venice Beach, California. But Cherry wants to top off this splendid vacation with Mark by spending some quality time in a rose garden while Happy spends time with Rusty. Poor Rusty!

This story appears to be in the wrap-up stage, but Rusty’s own adventure is unresolved. Perhaps Happy Trail will team up with him and they will make an exciting discovery. Perhaps they will even have enough time to get the Sunday paper and read the nature chat for today.

It would be hard to dispute the topical relevance of the bald eagle as the subject of the Sunday nature chat. Rivera makes an interesting link with Franklin’s quote and the Eagle’s near extinction. On the other hand, I don’t believe Franklin’s belief influenced pesticide manufacturers or poachers. There are a few matters of grammatical style we could quibble with here, such as the unnecessary use of quotation marks in a speech balloon and the confusion of using the noun “opportunist” in place of the adjective “opportunistic.” I appreciate Rivera’s position that it is wrong to ascribe human morality to wild animals. As the blue singer Kurt Crandall sings, “Pets ain’t people.” Yet, we keep seeing the consequences of naive people confusing pets and wild animals (such as bison and bears).