It was only after a serious pause and more than a dollop of consideration, but Mark has finally recognized Rusty as his son…Not the fruit of his own loins, to be sure, but then that would require him to actually have , um, relations with Cherry, and that whole notion still leaves Mark a bit confused…

But let’s be clear, Rusty, you did not jump, you dove into shallow water.  Not very bright and not in keeping with the “safety jump” taught in any junior lifesaving class…

So with Barney and Betty looking on in confusion, still wondering what the hell they did to deserve being relocated, Father and son go home to greet Mom and recount lusty tails of fallen trees and watery rescues…

C’mon, Rusty…  No time for tears, boy.  And when did you you start calling him ‘Dad?’  He’s always been ‘Mark’ to you… Yup, that log was on a mission.  The laws of Nature, Space, Time and Physics have all taken a brief hiatus in order to make this all happen…  and is that Mark laying face up or face down in the water in panel 3?  Sure looks peaceful, though, don’t he??

I gotta tell you, the suspense is absolutely killing me.  Is there nothing Mark won’t do to get out of taking Rusty fishing??

What on earth is it with trees falling spontaneously?  Just recently it was the one that started the forest fire, then it was Abbey Powell’s truck, now it’s Mark’s head!  But we needn’t worry.  Mark has been kicked and punched so many times over the years he appears to even enjoy it!  And ever since the environmentalists helped us to realize that even a dead tree is important habitat, we are not allowed to take any of these hazards down, until of course they fall on their own and cause a Traumatic Brain Injury…

What’s interesting though is that this tree appears to be falling down and falling forward at the same time.  Almost as if it had it out for our hero.  Well we have seen examples where trees are “alive and have souls,” whether they be Ents in Lord of the Rings or the hapless dude in the GEICO commercial…

But c’mon Mark, beaver babies are called kits, or kittens…  How can you miss an opportunity to display your matchless knowledge of the great outdoors??  We also know that beavers are monogamous and pop out a litter every year, but like Barney and Betty, get kicked out of the lodge in their third year!  Only to wreak havoc with land owners, so we start the entire cycle all over again…

Yes, let’s go back to the house before we have to witness the carnage…  that clever and voracious Fisher Cat is eyeing Barney and Betty as we speak!

They must get cable in Lost Forest- or Satellite…  and with the basic package comes Cartoon Network.

Barney and Betty!  Ha, that’s a good one.  Not very original, but a good one.  What was Barney’s job, anyway?  We knew all about Fred’s job at the quarry- operating the heavy machinery (proof that dinosaurs and man walked the earth together) at “Slate Gravel” run by no other than George Nate (Eugene) Slate…  I always got the impression that Barney was in Public Relations or something like that…  Never any issues, though, never brought work or the boss home with him…

Well, get a good look at B&B, Rusty, one of them is about to meet up with fate… in the form of a hungry Fisher Cat!

But does the Fisher Cat swim??  Will Rusty get to witness Nature at Her cruelest?  Why is it even called a Fisher Cat unless it Fishes?  Well, that would give it something in common with Mark and his Ward- they like to fish, too…

That is if Mark isn’t just blowing smoke up the young lad’s arse…  wouldn’t be the first time Mark suggested such an outing only to have the phone ring and Mark be sent off on assignment… Although in the waning days of the Elrod Regime, Rusty was actually allowed to go fishing, thus taking all the air out of that balloon…  so let’s see whether James Allen picks up the mantle and plays with Rusty’s head…

Oh, visions of Otters past…  the only thing Mark has yet to do is promise to take Rusty fishing…

Yes, Mark, while you were away– for an entire day!  “Of course you can see the Otters, I mean Beavers, Rusty…” Be sure to name them and become attached in order that the release be dripping with sadness and poignancy…

What the hell is in the tree in panel three?  No, not the squirrel, the other thing getting ready to pounce on the squirrel.  At first I thought it was a mountain lion, but then it’s not looking so much like that…  the head and tail are all wrong.  Some strange mutated predator with tree climbing ability… kind of creeps me out.

Or was he?  I don’t think so.  He’s being fawned upon and greeted as if he had been to Africa or something…

Ignoring Rusty, it wasn’t until Andy the big dog got into the love fest that Mark felt truly glad to be back among his tribe…

Seriously Mark.  The new Mark Trail shoulda/woulda been sensitive to Cherry’s needs… What with the 24 hour news cycle, the fire on Slumber Mountain (south face) would have been all over the networks and news feeds…  and considering it’s still the same day as when you left Lost Forest, imagine how much Cherry must have missed you…

But tears?  Really?  Cherry needs to take a page out of the Big Dog’s playbook… let’s show a little equanimity here…  and remember for whom the Strip is named… Everyone other than Mark Trail needs to realize that it is they who are expendable…  But wait Cherry, your surprise will not be complete until Mark shows you the beaver pair he picked up…  OK, we’ll leave it at that…

Release the Beavers!  What a concept!  But it’s almost as if Mark wasn’t sure what his next move was going to be once he got the beavers home.  Were they to become permanent residents of Lost Forest?  Live in Rusty’s room?  Share the bathtub, Disney-style?  Well at least Mark put the pieces together and now the pair can start out again, in search of running water to dam up…  and he won’t disappoint Rusty with any notions of keeping them as pets…

I have to say, the forest fire was a completely random and non-sequitur event…  We don’t know the careless campers other than they were careless with fire and over-packed… and it of course introduced us to the BLM, where some of our federal tax dollars go to keep us safe and our interests protected.  Well, let’s hope that Wally Wood and Susan find it within themselves to continue their lives together, proper-like, all married and stuff.  Where will the Trail take us next?  Let’s find out tomorrow!

Wally Wood is once again exhibiting his manic tendencies…  What is that look on his face in the first panel supposed to mean??  Are we sure he’s going to propose to Susan or is he maybe referring to something else?  What is really important to you, Wally?

Thank you Mark for your impeccable grammar!  My faith in humanity is restored!

Never thought I’d say this, but I miss Ol’ Mitchum… at least he was bent on murdering and profiteering…  and at least Mark was allowed to punch someone!

So, on this Memorial Day, let’s remember all of those who have gone before us and shaped our lives.  And let’s do our best to help those who will outlast us and who will remember us fondly someday!

With the beavers in cages, the fire out and the beetles on the run (to be monitored closely by Abbey Powell,) we can all rest soundly now… but what about Wally and Susan? Is he going to pop the question or is he going to continue to “get the milk for free?”  Are we to now go back to Lost Forest and present the demi-god Rusty with the beaver offering?

Wally’s face says it all, though, that is one relieved man, there, ladies and gentlemen…

The fire never had a chance…  what with the aerial support and the lavender suits with matching helmets and walkie-talkies, and the fact that the crew is outfitted with double bladed, Paul Bunyan style axes, we are in very good hands here…

But what could the crew boss be eyeing in the first panel?? He looks like he sees a ghost or something…

Trapped beaver and a strategic forest fire contained by the Bureau of Land Management has solved all of Wally’s problems?  So what if a helicopter and a truck are lost in the fracas?  There’s plenty more where that came from… Not to mention bulldozers!  Was that dropped from a passing C-130??

Wally, dude, Mark is only 25 feet away… you needn’t wave to him to get his attention.  I’m guessing he already sees you!

So know Mark’s powers revolve around his ability to know what resources are available and to summon them?  Will he never punch a bad guy again?  Or is that Cherry’s job now??

In case anyone besides me was wondering…  the Bureau of Land Management or BLM has a Fire and Aviation Division… Who knew?  Apparently Mark Trail.  And now all of us.  I feel so much better knowing all this…

And by the way, AERIAL is a great Scrabble word- might not be 7 letters, but it’s a great vowel-dump…

I’m so confused.  But I certainly got one thing wrong- this is no “sit around the table and debate” club!  This is what I call action!  In the time it takes to kill a few geese, crash a helicopter, and rescue the pilot smoke jumpers and planes full of aerial suppression are scrambled and on the scene!  Wow!!  If this isn’t justification for all the money spent on maintaining readiness I don’t know what is!

Well, we can all go about our day now..  move along now…  nothing to see here…

Yes, Abbey, keep running that way- and don’t stop for any reason, especially not for strangers and others that might offer you candy…  Really Mark, she’s a grown woman-person…  you needn’t be quite so directive…

And how do you know his name is ‘Buddy,’ Mark?  Are all helicopter pilots named ‘Buddy’ just like all Pullman Porters were named ‘George?’  It’s good that we didn’t add to the body count…  but we still may be seconds away from another explosion!

I suppose the lesson here is that nothing is so sacred that can’t be blown up or taken out…  be they boats, (the SWAN,) trucks (Abbey’s,) tanks of propane gas or planes (Wes and Shelley’s,) or even a civil service helicopter bent on protecting the Natural World ends up as so much shrapnel…

So with Mark and Abbey assuming the super-hero bent forward running/lunging stance, we say good-bye to the helicopter and its inhabitants…  or perhaps they will miraculously survive this imminent impact, which will no doubt spare Mark and maybe Abbey…  Saturday can’t come soon enough for me, what with all that now hangs in the balance…

I don’t pretend to understand what motivates wildlife, but I really don’t think that geese would care much at all about fire, considering that they can take to the wing and just leave it all behind.  But Helicopters?  I guess they’d find one of those fairly disorienting…  Nevertheless, here we are again, with disaster on our doorstep, brought about by mankind and his careless ways… anyone else sensing a theme here?  No matter what we do to try to control Nature, Nature will always win.

I think that’s the greatest line ever uttered in the Trailverse- “Aahhh!  Geese!”  And it may be the last line uttered for our spotter pilot- thank goodness he was able call in the fire before being taken down by this random act of Nature.  I think the Forest Commission will re-think their manned-flight protocols in the wake of this apparent tragedy.  I see the rise of the drones coming:  why send anyone into harm’s way when it could all have been done remotely from the comfort of Central Command…