Pack rat (#303, Topic D)

Among 3 pages of comics carried by Washington Post every day, I tend to identify with Dagwood in Blondie (Dean Young is the cartoonist) -- a lazy fellow who takes naps whenever he can (ditto with me), avoids doing house work by giving all sorts of excuses (ditto), makes last-minute dashes just to avoid being late (ditto), and eats whenever he is not taking naps and longs for food whenever he is not at the dining table (ditto and ditto). Yesterday's 3 panels capture another trait I share with Dagwood: a pack rat. In the first panel, Dagwood asks Blondie, his wife, "Have you seen my old bowling ball?" (Luckily, I do not bowl; I do have, however, old tennis balls.) Blondie, perhaps taking advantage of this being just the second day of a new year, offers a cheerful suggestion: "Are you finally going to throw that thing away this year?" Blondie is usually depicted as an understanding and supportive wife -- here, I think she is not her usual self -- referring to one of his prized possessions as that thing is simply too much. Understandably, Dagwood does not take it well. Thus, in panel 2, he says: "Of course not! I just want to know where it is." Well said; simply perfect. Undisturbed, Blondie's come back is: "Well, you don't use it, and you aren't going to throw it away, so it shouldn't matter where it is." The logic behind this statement is, it must be admitted, unassailable. Still, Dagwood argues, in panel 3, "What kind of twisted logic is that?!" Indeed, unassailable is one thing, unacceptable is another.