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Time to wrap this up, kids…
What? I thought there was just one “Fist of Justice!
Waaa, waaa, waaa, waaaaaaaaaa….. With violence clearly established as a plot device, we go for laughs any way we can… Will Mark wear the cross-hatches indefinitely? Will Cherry’s shiner ever recede? Will there soon become a “BikBok” outlet for family struggles and other poor behavior? Stay tuned for the next installment of “Mark Trail, Eco-pugilist…”
Forgive the gap, Campers, these weeks get away from your (sometimes) faithful scribe… Let’s start with the Sunday educational moment (And yes, the Opossums earlier were a tip-off…)
Prehensile Tail, huh? “Capable of Grasping.” Have to admit I have heard the word but wasn’t sure what it meant…
So, while I wasn’t “playing Opossum” with this blog, I do find it easier to take in chunks… so here we go!
Mr. Trail, tear down that wall! Well, I guess all’s well now, despite the toxic algae build up?
Oh, Rusty, there you are, in all your glory! Teenager making with the mischief on the Social Media… And Rusty must be home-schooled, since I am sure that Lord of the Flies has been put on the ‘do not read’ list…
Interesting! When we were first introduced to Marcus Happy Trail III, we saw the lineage… and as far as we knew, he descended from biology, not adoption. Looks more like cloning, but what the heck. But the fact that the young Marcus looks more like the original Rusty than the latter day rusty looks like the original Rusty, this just has me confused… help!
I thought the “SNAP” was already on Rusty’s hoodie! But no, he just broke the head off from the mount. Happy not so happy about the Boat! Final frame, cue laugh track… and scene
Is it me, or did we suddenly travel to a new house? The Modest Ranch we encountered upon the green-wood-paneled Station Wagon’s arrival has suddenly blossomed into a grand foyer (pronounced foy-ay) complete with trophies… surprised there isn’t a stuffed manatee somewhere…
Meanwhile, Jolly and his daughter, who happens to be an attorney, plead their case about the “taking” and discrimination vis-à-vis their land…
Ha! Plot thickens! You are a mean old chiseler, Happy Trail! Admit it!
Apparently Mark want nothing to do with what is going on right now, even though it’s the reason for his being there- to write an article…
But what Mark does determine causes Happy to go all zombie in the eyes… and admit that he is mean and alone in this world…
Like I said, Mark and Happy must not talk much… A lot of water under the bridge, so to speak, and years of not seeing each other… could this be the beginning? Maybe even the end of this little yarn? Nice (O)possum!
…time to get back at it.
The foreshadowing of the insects on the windshield… should have seen that coming…
…as more than the prodigal return…
Clearly Happy and Mark have not been in touch for a while… as Happy’s greatest fear- a grandson- makes itself known…
But onto the lesson, and I was wrong- it’s not about owls:
By the time we are done here, we will know more about Florida than we probably all care to know! But hang on, kids, we are about to witness a flashback…
Mark, as a youth, getting the heck outa Dodge? Haunted by one’s past! Can’t be much fun!
In the words of Inigo Montoya, “I do not think it means what you think it means…“
With Foxy Lady checking in on Mark’s progress, and strangely no mention of the boat-splosions that were no doubt all over the social media, Mark gets back to what? Work?
Have to admit I have never seen a green wood-sided station wagon…
Like I said, the story of the prodigal son (and I’m not scholar, I assure you) has to do with competition between sons for their father’s affections- one staying home and doing his duty, the other (prodigal) going off in the world to sow his oats, only to return, where his arrival is greeted with great joy, fatted calf, etc… Is there another son? Mark’s Brother that we haven’t met?
OK, now this is getting all meta… The ‘Mark Trail’ we knew and loved is now ‘Happy Trail’ and his son (with Cherry, Andy, Rusty and Doc) is now Mark Trail? Is this an episode of “Lost?”
How about your faithful fanbase? Or what’s left of it??
Mark, you are a little bit underdressed for the casino, aren’t you? But then dress codes aren’t what they used to be… Seems like Mark and Cherry have been keeping quite a bit from each other…
Recall $20,000 is the cost of the inpatient treatment that Cherry’s mom needs to get her Borderline Personality Disorder sorted… At least Rusty has company now! Never swim alone!
Mark if you are thinking of your father, then I think you better think again… Unless there is another character to introduce in this unwieldy plot line…
And, OH! I missed the Sunday Lesson: Owls!
In what was a world replete with protagonists making sound, defendable choices, we now find ourselves running downhill with scissors in our hands… Sort of like Slylock Fox, “Find what’s wrong in this picture…”
Rusty swimming alone, Cherry hanging out in a casino, Mark leaving “Trails” of destruction, Cherry battling (literally) her family demons…
I predict that we will be learning about Owls this Sunday…
The cicada… more Florida Fauna. I guess the plan is to go deep wherever we happen to find ourselves…
Return to Rusty… the gangly youth. And the return of Mark, still no authorities in tow…
And as we might have expected, Mark is now the darling of the inter-webs… His dream of picking up followers growing nigh.
Haha, young man. Show a little respect, you know? or not… What’s with the Owls? Is the Owl Inn?
Well, Mark’s escapades are all over social media, and now he’s dealing with the realization that he comes from sinister stock…
Hahaha, Kelly… “Trail of Destruction…” I guess this isn’t the first time Mark has gone on a rampage. Why does Kelly look like a zombie, though? With only the whites of her eyes showing in the first panel? The last panel is stirring. Very dark, very brooding.
I will say this about Kelly- with her angular features and long-in-the-jaw profile, she not the siren of old. She looks more like someone you’d want on your side in a scuffle.
Well, there you have it… Mark, this is your story, no one else’s. Now if we can only follow along without getting lost!
Let’s check out the Sunday Lesson! Important “Tips” to consider whilst wading in the surf! As overnight and daytime temps get stuck in the single digits, this looks pretty inviting…
Haha… I see what you did there… a little pop-culture reference to a TV show that overstayed its welcome! Certainly can’t accuse Mark Trail of that, can we??
Meanwhile, back to The Fugitive, errr, I mean Mark Trail…
Can’t really make out what’s in the foreground of the first panel above… Some large winged creature? A Seed pod of some kind? Anyway, as Mark and Cherry catch up on the latest, they have both earned some bruises and scrapes… at least Cherry (likely) will not have any scrapes with Local Law Enforcement…
More BuB (Blown up Boat) references… as this is clearly now Mark’s legacy, thanks to the Allen era. I doubt mark ever blew up a boat under Dodd/Elrod…
Yes. Plot twist indeed. In the old days, Mark couldn’t get rid of Kelly if he wanted to, but now he calls on her for help? What? Kelly with the power of a ka-jillion followers on her insta? What’s that gonna do in the face of Federal charges? Get him a Presidential Pardon?
The White Ibis is stoked, but Mark still has ringing in his ears. This is probably not what he had in mind when he went to interview his father as part of his assignment for Teen Girl Sparkle…
With not just his boat, but an entire fleet of boats aflame, Mark drags himself ashore to await his fate… This is so odd. Mark is on the other side of right and wrong. Actions and decisions have consequences… What will they be?
As Mark continues to attempt his escape from the law, he sees his chance…
But not without smashing “Happy Sails” one last time…
Well, this brings a new definition to the notion of a Fireworks “Cake!”
Good bye, Happy Sails. See ya, helicopter. Adios, cruel world… What, is Mark going to hitch a ride with Mr. Shark? Learn how to breathe underwater (we saw him talk there a while back…)? Arriving with a Bang, I’d say, Ms. Rivera!
Is that a thing? Apparently so…
The Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, is a speaker system and sound energy weapon developed in the early 2000s for use by the U.S. military. It renders sound in directional focus and at extreme volumes, allowing the user to make sound audible over greater distances, and with more geographical precision, than an ordinary loudspeaker. According to a 2004 ABC News report, LRADs have a viewfinder and crosshairs which officers can use to specifically target the location of a sound, through a process the device’s inventor compares to using a lens to magnify a beam of light. These audio devices, colloquially known as “sound cannons,” can be used either as conventional public address speaker systems or to generate extremely loud high-frequency sounds specifically intended for the dispersal of crowds, which can also cause pain, disorientation, and injury to those exposed to them.
I guess, happily, I haven’t found myself or anyone I know in direct line of LRAD fire… But it seems that Mark is familiar with the technology…
So no, no bullets, just eardrum-melting, brain-scrambling levels of sound. Seems a bit cruel and unusual, doesn’t it? And while I have steered clear of the political in this blog, clearly another example of the militarization of the police. Yet another reminder of toothpaste that we can’t get back into the tube, the Genie we can’t coax back into the bottle.
Happy Trails, indeed!!
Has the name of the boat Mark is trashing struck anyone else as ironic? Happy Sails? It’s a speedboat after all…
All I can surmise from the last panel is that Mark is now getting shot at… We keep breaking new ground here, don’t we? So, as the Police give chase and the shark keeps pace, what will tomorrow bring?
This one actually made me smile…
“Armadillos are tourists who came to Florida and never left… Like Everyone else in Florida!” Ha!
But meanwhile, Mark is in some deep shite…
Remember that Mark can talk to the Animals… Sort of a Latter-day Dr. Dolittle… Except I think that Dr. Dolittle had more respect for private property and authority… And now is the time that Mark confers with the Shark… I wonder what wisdom he will impart?
One lost Soul.
Where do we start to rack up the charges? Mark, you are in some deep shite… Even the Bull Shark agrees. And this doesn’t even depend on Mark’s dad pressing charges. Mark’s actions and related consequences stand on their own.
Time for a head scratch and a reckoning I suppose. No longer “Famous Mark” as in, “Hey, I’ve read and enjoyed your articles for years…” but rather “Infamous Mark” who will soon need the best Legal Team (no) money can buy…
Speaking of Soul: if you have Disney+, I highly recommend the recent offering. Very good.
Well, at least I was correct in calling out the White Ibis. It would seem that the daily installments drive the Sunday Lesson… I actually like the strange and not obvious reference to a Plague Mask… Masks with beak-like protrusions that would be filled with aromatic elements meant to protect the wearer from the Plague… More like protect the wearer from the miasma being generated by the rotting and decaying flesh of the many corpses lying about…
Going back a a ways, there was talk of Manatees… I stumbled on this clip (or not, considering the way that the internet works) and thought it fantastic… Mother Manatee with twin calves…
But let’s return to the scuffle…
Who is this guy anyway? One of Mark’s Dad’s Henchmen? And I though Mark had ruined the boat a while back by running it into a pier?
And who are we rooting for here? Mark? Not a very sympathetic character these days…
Daddy is pissed and sending in reinforcements…
Feel like I am watching an old Batman scuffle… Where I learned how to sound out all my short vowels- BAM! BIFF! SOCK! Not to mention the odd diphthong- POW!
So with a quick grab and flip, Baldy is going to get eaten by shark(s)?
And Mark, pray tell, where exactly is home these days? You options seem to be dwindling…
Just what we need in the new year, right? A Mark Trail that doesn’t care a leaf for decency or “The Rule of Law…” Better cut off his Twitter and Instagram accounts…
Stolen property, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, and now…
…Assaulting a Peace Officer (of some kind or another)… While a wading bird (looks like a White Ibis, except that the bill is all wrong- more Flamingo like?) cheers him on? I hope Mark enjoys prison, because that’s where he’s going.
Remember when this blog started? I sort of held Mark up as a standard? WWMD? True North in times of confusion and strife? Well, it appears that this version of Mark Trail is bent on becoming a felon, if in fact he doesn’t already have a criminal record… Grand Theft Boat, anyone?
Well, we will dance with the one who brung us, at least for now. I agree that this is more that a mild whiplash treatment of what has come before. We used to shake our heads at the hokiness of the strip, its predictable nature, but now we sit in quiet (or not so quiet) disbelief over the manicness of is all.
…in light of recent mentions of Bobcats, I stumbled across this!
Source: This link, picture apparently taken by a DRONE!
The Daily Trail 