Here comes Cherry with her bedroll … I mean, day pack. Time for another opportunity to enjoy nature the way it’s supposed to be enjoyed: In secret, behind a lot of bushes, and with a bottle of wine. With the size of their log house, privacy has to be at a premium for Mark and Cherry Trail. Otherwise, we need hardly speculate that it could be embarrassing if this was the moment when Doc Davis decided to return from the Zombie Zone of Irrelevance, enter the house, and call out “What’s all that racket going on in there? Is everybody okay?”
No, Cricket Bro did not “accidentally” do the right thing! He did the wrong thing and knew he was doing wrong. Diana Daggers found inspiration to make safety videos based on Cricket Bro’s mistakes. Sorry, Mark; you got it wrong, as did Diana.
I have personal experience in a related situation, as well. As a graduate student many decades ago, I was in a seminar and had to write a series of essays based on a particular style of textual analysis known as L’explication de texte. While I thought I was doing it correctly, my professor said that I had completely misunderstood the nature of this format and that my essays were, therefore, wrong. This is different from Cricket Bro, who knew he was in the wrong. Anyway, to twist the knife more, my professor asked me if she could use some of my essays for other students as examples of how to not write a L’explication de texte. Because I was pro-education, I consented (I also hoped it would influence my seminar grade!).
Cricket Bro knew he was doing a wrong thing, while I thought I was doing the right thing, but was still wrong. Diana Daggers used Cricket Bro’s mistakes to make videos showing the right things to do. My professor used my failures to instruct other students on what to not do. Is there a moral to this? I have no idea.
What if fools do imitate Cricket Bro!? Maybe Mark never heard of the Darwin Awards. So, Mark certainly looks agitated (panel 2) over Diana Daggers’ remarks about Cricket Bro’s actions and influence. But Mark can feel free to carry some of the guilt, himself, for whatever hell he is imagining. After all, he helped rescue the person who tried to kill him in the past, notwithstanding other actions Cricket Bro has taken against him. And Mark could have pressed Ranger Shaw to seek Cricket Bro’s arrest for whatever rules he broke entering the cave … wait, my fault for considering Ranger Shaw to do anything positive.
Techno remixes seem so retro. I would expect to see quality AI parodies these days. In any event, there are two more days of this excitement to get through. But wait (once again): There is a second week to deal with. ¡Ay, caramba! Perhaps Cherry will spend most of next week filling Mark in on her own batty adventure.
Maybe I’m being too critical, too conservative. After all, we are learning more about how Mark fills his days when he is not off on an assignment or helping somebody. But maybe he could spend a few frames chatting with his father-in-law, his sisters-in-law, or some of his friends (if he has any) at the local bar. Who knows what could come out of these get-togethers?
Dianna Daggers’ new studio is either within the building in panel 4, or its sole occupant. Either way, she must have struck gold. The building sign seems to say Busy Bird Studio. There is, in fact, a real Busybird Studio in Amsterdam, doing commercial screen-printing. There is also a Busy Bird Studio art marketing profile on Pinterest. Just thought you’d be interested. Why would Jules Rivera select a name that is already used by real businesses?
However, it looks like Daggers has found her calling and given up her Bad Girl shtick. Too bad; I still thought she had potential as either an ongoing rival to Mark or a really good sidekick. Well, there are three more days to fill out the week. I wonder if Mark will write up his cave rescue and try to sell it to Bill Ellis or some other publisher.
And why should Mark care one whit about what the Boob Bros are doing?
Well, silly question. Mark has a forgiving and naive heart. Otherwise, we’re back to stretching out the week with the usual blarney, for what purpose I’m not sure. This mindless twaddle might merge into a new story. It’s also possible that this week is progressing on a level beyond my simpleminded understanding. Or, the week will simply end with no purpose, as Mark goes off on a completely different assignment next week.
Ol’ George “Cannot tell a lie” Washington lived in a time when conversing on an equal footing with persons of a different color, much less a woman, would almost never happen. And Washington certainly would not ask her “How was that for you?” But he’s dead and gone, so we can just move on.
Now, isn’t that’s a nice Monarch butterfly?! Also noteworthy: Jules Rivera managed to include the Green House in the back yard once again. What next, an interactive conversation with Ralph the Rat Snake? On the other hand, Mark is talking about a rescue disaster as if it was an amusement park ride or a hot date (panel 1).
However, Diana Daggers has a point: Why is Mark calling her weeks after the event? Surely they had time to a postmortem or victory dinner by now. What is Mark up to, besides not soliciting work from Bill Ellis?
Is this The End? That is, is this the end of Cherry’s latest (miss)adventure? This past week saw Honest Ernest watching Cherry get into her truck to drive home after a full day’s labor. As he walked towards the music hall building—pesticide tank on his back—Ernet continued to fantasize about his illicit love for the married Violet Cheshire, supported by his knight errant’s pursuit of virtue. In this case, gassing a bunch of bats.
But as he prepared to lance his foes, a bright spotlight manned by a shadowy figure caught him unawares. Turns out it was Cherry’s brother, Dirk the Huge, who was there at Cherry’s request to intercept Honest Ernest. Assisted by his own trusty wild hogs, Dirk did not have to bellow, overtly threaten, or physically assault the cowed Ernest. Like Don Corleone, Dirk gave Ernest an offer he couldn’t refuse, which put “CANCELED!” to his chivalric ambitions.
This is the point in the story where it collapsed into Alice’s Wonderland of confusion, with Honest Ernest too confused or fearful to move and the bats heading out for their nightly dinner call. So, it sure looks like the ending of the story, or at least, of the main plot of the story. But we would normally return to Mark’s ongoing story, except that it appeared that the cave rescue adventure also ended. That means we might see a week of Mark and Cherry going on another one of their expurgated “nature” walks as they share their experiences and await a call from Bill Ellis. And it will be high time that Mark started earning money for the family once again!
Anymore “cave shrimp” jokes? Okay, then. What’s in a name? Or names? Why don’t we just keep it simple and refer to this insect as “Rhaphidophoridae.” Then we won’t be confused by all of its cute, if vague, aliases. The general consensus is that Rhaphidophoridae are not endangered; don’t make good pets for your kids; have little, if any, value outside of being occasional food for bats, spiders, and mice; and are mostly considered pests if they wind up in your house. Getting rid of them can be problematic on your own.
I’m down in Virginia visiting Dad again, which means I get out of synch with things, such as time differentials and remembering to hit the Publish button. Therefore, today’s post includes yesterday’s and today’s strips.
Well, on one hand, I’m surprised again to see that Jules Rivera pulled a big rabbit out of her hat in the form of brother Dirk, the “Hoss” of this here Trailverse. I’m also surprised that Rivera didn’t use the obvious cliché line, “Say hello to my little friends.” Perhaps there is hope? Maybe not, because even without the movie quote, Rivera still can’t resist turning drama into dramedy.
Panel 1: Is this self-parody, having Dirk’s search light make a “BEAM!” sound? Also odd, because yesterday, the sound effect was “FLASH!” like a light that comes on for only an instant. Panel1: Why spoil the surprise by putting a wild hog in the panel? Panel 3: Dirk continues to have the worst beard in the comic strips. It’s worse than the fake beards in “Oh Brother, Where Art Though?” And I stand corrected: That hat looks more like a canvas hat than a fedora.
Note: I think yesterday’s episode was something of a cheat. The profiled silhouette was not sporting any kind of beard. And the hat looks different. But let’s press on to the current strip of this story:
Today’s installment qualifies for a first-class cop-out trophy for its sudden and nonsensical ending. “Hold on!”, I can hear some of you protest. Okay, pretend there are some readers who protest my short, swift denunciation. I could see this story’s apparently swift conclusion as a homage to the non-sequitur style of humor that Monty Python often indulged in (“And now, for something completely different…”). And I could be totally wrong in thinking this is the conclusion to the story, rather than just the end of a chapter.
OTH, perhaps Jules Rivera just got tired of the story and decided to cut it off here. Or maybe she is trying to wrap up this story at the same time as Mark’s current cave rescue adventure appears to be concluding.
At the same time, it’s always interesting when Dirk shows up; even if his contribution is mainly limited to scaring people into submission or retreat. Say, isn’t it curious that Dirk seems to only show up when Mark is busy elsewhere? It’s as if their concurrent appearances would destabilize the immediate vicinity in a cataclysm.
Do you disagree with anything I wrote? Catch something I missed or come up with a new insight? Let us know in the Comments section!
Mark Trail pitched his proposal for a blue diamond shrimp shop conspiracy article to Bill Ellis (who we learned operates out of NYC). Mark reported that the shady shrimp seller operates out of a reptile store in Nashville. Just by chance (!), Bill Ellis knows an investigator with the Fish & Wildlife Services (FWS) who is also currently investigating that very same shop! Jules Rivera presents us with two “coincidences” wrapped in one conversation. At the very least, this convenience saves Rivera from having to write a more complex, extended story and also gives Mark a nice shortcut to the action. Now, that’s being expeditious!
The FWS agent, Ray Gunn (could he be a distant relation to famed private eye, Peter Gunn?), called Mark, who was impatiently waiting on the call that Ellis arranged. When prompted for his connection to the shop, Mark told Agent Gunn about the shop selling exotic shrimp to minors. For reasons that must only have to do with moving the story along, Agent Gunn revealed the federal agency’s reasons for their investigation, including the important observation that the shop is sloppily-run (horrors!). More important is the possibility that the shop is involved in the illegal reptile trade. Finally, I’m not sure I agree with Rivera’s closing comment for the week that this is a really scary story, though it is possible she is being sarcastic. Anyway, that’s it for the week.
Easy to see the confusion: Stars are “white”, as are city and vehicle lights. It’s a nice enough thought to switch outside home lights to yellow, but in a city or metro area that is awash with white lights, it’s an uphill battle. Federal transportation law in the US mandates white light for appearance and brightness. Apparently, yellow bulbs reduce light output by up to 15%, though yellow light produces better driving results in snow, fog, and rain. But I’m all for cities shutting down lights overnight, except for flight safety and businesses that actually stay open all night. It’s an extravagant waste of energy, just to present a postcard picture of an urban center.
Art Dept. Jules Rivera always creates a custom title panel for her Sunday strips. Most of the time, the panel is creative and thematically linked to the topic. I think Rivera missed a step today. The title panel shows a moth getting ready to pollinate a flower, with the title “Mark Trail” informally scripted below, and colored white. Since the point of the strip is about the advantage of yellow light, shouldn’t Rivera have also colored the name yellow?
Well, it looks like Jules Rivera set up Honest Ernest to go with the second option: Exterminate the bats. However, this timely, dramatic interruption sets up a nice mystery. Indeed, who is that person in the 40’s style hat? Did somebody call in the Fish & Wildlife Service to stake out the music hall? Or did Violet Cheshire’s husband get wind of the situation and stood in wait for Ernest to show up? Or maybe somebody completely different, like a newspaper reporter! I’m thinking more along that line, given the flash camera shot and the fedora hat, stereotypical components of newspaper reports in the old days. Maybe he even wears a trench coat. Yet that sounds like a silly idea.
I’m actually a bit excited to see what happens next. Glad to see Rivera engaging in some drama and mystery, rather than continue her too-frequent attempts at being humorous. There are already plenty of gag-a-day strips and way, too few adventure strips.
