Recent reader, observantdonutad36129846, made the good observation that, once again, Doc Davis has been left out of the family invitation and this story. Perhaps there is a bit of jealousy between the two granddads? I don’t really know. Far be it for me to spread rumors. But Doc only shows up about once a year, anyway.

Moving on, today is something of a slush day, in that the story doesn’t really progress, but coasts along with casual repetition and padding. Now, working out a storyline to fit 6-day weeks should be common practice for Rivera by now. Instead, we have desultory dialog along with one of Rivera’s favorite tricks: The final panel punch line, which begs which phrase is getting parodied:  Batter up? Butter up? Bulk up?

Leaving that flotsam aside, this whole week has been strange to me, with what seems to be a family parody: We have a clingy wife; a husband standing erect in contrast to his more cursive mate; and the young son, so very eager to spend time with his granddad, er, “pappy.” That’s an odd nickname for a grandparent.  I always thought “Pappy” was reserved for dads. Well, that’s what Popeye called his own dad, after all.

Now that I mention it, I’m trying to figure out when Rusty started calling him “Pappy Happy.” Back in the 2022 story, Oregon Trails, Rusty called him Grampy Happy. In truth, Happy Trails has not been in too many stories, and fewer where he interacted with Rusty. No wonder Rusty is always so excited to see him! Anyway, I’m thinking this week may be the first time Rusty called him Pappy Happy. Maybe Rusty’s having “daddy” issues with Mark? Well, drop a comment if you recall an earlier occurrence of “Pappy Happy.”