(Strip Number 7138, Original Publication Date, 10 July 1983)
Panel 1: We start things off with the Pattersons about to enjoy a nice day at a local beach.
Panel 2: Elly starts the plot rolling by handing Lizzie a pail and shovel.
Panel 3: A few minutes later, Lizzie wants Mommy to lookit what she found.
Panel 4: Her 'glorious' discovery turns out to be trash: bottle caps, cigarette butts and plastic cups. This does not please Elly much.
Panel 5: Neither does Lizzie's enthusiasm as regards who can collect the most soda cans.
Panel 6: Mike's bursting with pride about finding broken glass and a lid to a thermos really gets her down.
Panel 7: Having picked up on her displeasure, Mike asks Elly what's the matter.
Panel 8: She says that when she was a child, she hunted for shells and pretty stones.
Summary: I don't like to find beaches littered with crap either. I also like pretty stones and shells better than bottle caps. Does that make me Elly? No. It makes me a normal person. What also makes me a normal person is knowing that I can do more than hang a sign about conserving water as a passive-aggressive means of criticising a sixteen year old girl.