I’ve told you I make this stuff up as I go along. If I had it to do over, I probably would not have included this strip. My purpose, as much as I had one, was to make Mary Lou appear human and imperfect, but I wanted her to be a sympathetic character. While it is true multiple mistakes do not necessarily make one less deserving of sympathy, this strip creates ambiguity and argument that do not further the story line. With only six shots a week, a cartoonist cannot afford to throw away a chance to advance the storyline.