Speak and ye shall find! Looks like Mark showed up pretty fast, even if it is just via an image. How did Diana wind up with Mark’s face and name that easily? As an experiment, I typed in just what she said in panel 2 and got a search list that included the DNR and numerous area private organizations that deal with caves, sinkholes, woods, and the like. No specific individuals, no single “best expert” around here. Then again, Lost Forest is a small enclave, so maybe Mark is the only resource available. I’d want to look closely at Diana’s search results to see whether the listing is really some kind of “Ad” that Mark paid for to get top search results.

And certainly, this was all rather convenient. As we saw at the beginning of the month, Mark was preparing for helping in cave crises by watching cave disaster videos. And now we have people in trouble at a local cave. It’s a coincidence all too common in TV shows. It’s like I was home studying the history of the French guillotine, when suddenly a friend calls to invite me to come watch a documentary on the French Revolution. Wow! I’m so ready!! Well, I might experiment with this idea: I’m going to watch some videos about rich people and wait for somebody to drop by with a very large cashier’s check.

Getting back to our story, I noticed that in the midst of the emergency, nobody seems to be filming anymore! But this is exactly the kind of drama and excitement that Cricket Bro is looking for! Diana was supposed to have her video camera set up. Boy, won’t Cricket Bro be mad if none of this is recorded!?

How typical. I go to the State Fair and the expected cave disaster begins in Mark Trail. Figures. Well, the weather today was really nice, though it did get pretty warm, especially when you are in the sun a lot, moving through crowds of people who deliberately walk slower than you or even stop in front of you! The nerve! Yes, the lines were long, and the food was expensive. What did I expect, right? But at least it wasn’t Orlando.

So, Cricket Bro starts bragging and then falls through the cave floor, huh? Apparently, the flooring at this level is not rock, but some kind of porous earth. But not porous enough for Cricket Bro to fall completely through, yet still leave a lot of cracks on the surface. Now, recently flowing water or even underground water could weaken the ground, especially if there is a cavern or space below the floor. And the ground does have that “recently held water” clay look to it. Or maybe a cave cryptid is holding onto Cricket Bro.

Anyway, I have some questions:

1. How much of Cricket Bro’s calamity is getting filmed? It appears Crypto Bro (Jadsen) had been filming, but stopped by panel 3. Not sure what Diana is doing, though she is facing away from the crisis and still wearing her trademark shades. Very strange.
2. Why does Jadsen refer to his brother as “Cricket Bro”, instead of his real name, Rob? Maybe once a nickname gets implanted, it’s hard to stop using it, even among family members.
3. How long will it be before Mark finally shows up?

Can’t wait for Saturday’s strip!