Public education is always under attack for one thing or another. Do they still teach grammar? Understanding the difference that word order can impart to meaning is an important skill for any writer, so let’s thank Jules Rivera for making this teachable moment possible. A “bear bandit” is somebody who steals bears. So is that what Skeeter really meant to say, class? Okay, students, submit your answers on my desk by the end of class. And be sure to use complete sentences!

Anyway, I’m not sure if Rita is bothered by Skeeter’s grammatical skills so much as being impressed with Skeeter’s ability to search the Internet with his digital camera. Or his ability to apparently hack into Florida’s secure DMV database.

But let’s move on. Our intrepid crew of ineptitude drives their continually-shrinking truck along the faux landscape setting of the Alfalfa Elementary School’s production of the play, “Go, Dog. Go!” on the way to the authorities. And once again, Max the Manatee is put on the back burner! By the time they actually get Max’s to his home waters, he will likely have shrunk about 70%. Some crisis!

We should note that this time, Bill Ellis only wants Mark to go to Florida to “cover the story”, as opposed to saving Max. Naturally, Mark ignored this nuance and immediately went into his “Save the Wildlife!” mode. This is why I think it would be a good idea if Mark’s job description changed from reporter to fixer. Mark doesn’t seem too interested in journalism, anyway.

It also seems to me that Max the Manatee will have already been saved by the park’s staff or given a burial at sea before Mark can get down there, especially with all that traffic and horrible parking.

Now, where did that weird park name come from, I wondered. I did a bit of searching and discovered the “Zoom Flume Water Park” in East Durham, NY. In addition, there is the “Universal Volcano Bay”water theme park in Orlando, Florida.

Art Dept. Rivera customized the two central panels where the lower parts take on the look of traditional thought balloons. Is Rivera trying to get artsy? Nope. I think she is just customizing the panel shapes to reflect that they represent a flashback of sorts for the story Bill Ellis is recounting. That is, an extension of the mental thought balloon that Bill Ellis displays in panel 1.