Pickles by Brian Crane for January 28, 2021

Speaking for myself, it’s not so much the one defect that gets to you, it’s the accumulation of them that wears on you.

A dent could reduce the value of the car by $5,000. I don’t know for sure.

I live in a town that was transformed into a retirement community after the uranium mines shut down. I know for a fact that some young folks observing Earl would call him an old fart. So with that in mind be good Earl, chill and stop being such an old crank! You are making the rest of us look bad! :-)

got any other ways, Opal, to cheer Earl up from this little mishap you had caused?

I remember when my next door neighbor Mr. Brown had a 1950 Studebaker Champion. Then, the South Bend factory closed down about 1962 and he lost his job there. The old bullet nose was terrific. Apparently, I am older than grandpa and his cartoon vehicle. But, my 1947 Plymouth Special Deluxe is older than grandpa, his Studebaker, and myself. I remember crunching the Plymouth against the garage door and being depressed until I had the body shop repair it. I hope he has enough money in a shoe box to have the old car repaired.

Come on, Earl is barely run in properly!

Opal you talked yourself into that not Earl ;-)

A little contrition and a little compassion would go a long way, Opal, instead of trying to shift the blame for your mistake onto Earl.

Go to the Paintless dent removal shop, after which you would never know the dent was there!

But you don’t ever make sense.

They don’t make Studebakers anymore, so I can understand his grief.

That’s not the bumper, that’s a fender.

Do you think you would allow Earl the same type of latitude if it was one of your items being damaged, Opal?

Opal never stops insulting him when it was SHE who caused the dent!

A couple of points there Opal.

You’re about the same age as both Earl and the Studebaker

Would you ram a shopping cart in to Earl, even if accidentally, then just blow it off like it wa nothing.

she expects him to be all right with a dent, but he is not allowed to sleep on her new bed covers, not fair.

Sell it on Antiques Roadshow!

Not long ago, Opal wouldn’t let him lie on her new comforter.

Maybe a few loving taps with a hammer might work on earl, Opal. . .

I wish we still had my parent TWO Studebakers from the 1950’s. One was a Champion 2 door.

Assuming here, but remember: it can be restored many, many times, but it’s only original once… :-)

Earl didn’t take care of that Stude all those years to have someone ram a shopping cart into it! I truly understand how he feels. Come on Opal-apologize and y’all can move on!

Who is she TALKING to in that last panel.??

If Opal wants to see what age does to you, she should just look into a mirror. Sleeping Beauty, she is not. Time is a cruel Mistress.

my wife doesn’t even notice when the car gets a dent of ding. When I notice and ask about it she has no idea where or when it happened. Sigh

No. Opal.

Drive the car, enjoy it. Do what it was made for.

Earl wants to keep car looking as new as he can, even though it is old.

It’s a guy thing. Now lets talk about your….hats, shoes, cookware,grandchild pictures..etc.

Most of the time they don’t understand things that make sense (men),

It takes a lot to dent the heavy steel of an old Studebaker. I think Earl should be grilling Opal on the cause, doesn’t look like a shopping cart incident to me!

It’s a precious object and only getting more precious with increasing age and rarity. (some things do that)

Yeah, but unlike you Opal, the Studebaker is a classic.

Last comment from me, the “bullet” Nose was meant to hold a third headlight that would turn left or right as the car made a left or right turn to light up the road. Only two cars were designed with this feature, the Stude and the Tucker. None were produced with this as I recall.

A woman’s reason is not to wonder why? Yes, baloney!

Earl not only looks like he came off the showroom floor, but he has that new car smell.

Always a house behind a rise in comic land

The other day when I was recounting Studebakers I’d known and loved, I forgot that the son of the guy with the ’22 – who would be the aforementioned childhood best friend – drove a ’36 Studie coupe in HS; we could take it to the drive-in, park facing away from the screen, open the trunk, and 4 of us could lay full length to watch.

Time for a re-paint Earl.

Dents in my Studebakers upset me!!!!!!!!

And there it is. Her putting a dent in the car is his fault (sort of)… ☺

It a definitive classic!

I found a picture of my grandfather’s Studebaker last night. It was a newer model.

Call dent masters

Would love to hear the story of how these two met.

We had a ’51 and a 53…..then my legs grew too long for the tiny back seat.

Those older cars can have dents removed not like modern crack-the-plastic-throw-it-away cars.

A little dimple or ding in an old car can usually be gently banged out by a competent body shop for very little. However, as I found out to my dismay, buffing out a scratch and rematching the paint can be a very costly adventure with an antique car.

That car is probably worth more now than when it was new. I paid $2000 for my new 1970 Plymouth Duster. I doubt he paid more than $1000 for the Studebaker and now its an antique classic.

In all their years together he obviously has not explained to her the importance of taking care of the car. I would never lean on the fender like that. Even now when my husband isn’t around to be bothered by that.

He should upgrade. Maybe a 1962 Chevy II (Nova). Or a 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid.

I could say that both, Earl’s Studebaker and Opal, look like they have been driven hard, but I won’t!

“A bear in his natural habitat – a Studebaker;”

It’s nice to see an arc where Opal screws up (big time!) and Earl gets to humiliate her for a change.

You don’t make sense, Opal. You are wrong. And downplaying his anger is compounding your wrong. The car is a classic, and unlike you, is in excellent condition and worth something to other people besides Earl….

Opal is an uncaring self-centered individual filled with double standards… She wouldn’t let Earl touch a new comforter unless he showered and changed clothes.