Yeah, that was a weird part alright. Still, I think the point is how worked up the guy gets over the tree--rather than asking if George is okay. Maybe we're supposed to identify with his feeling of worthlessness, since he is valued less than a bruise on an old tree. By the way, you ARE going to do a strip about those two guys who hang around Violet, right? Pretty please?

I guess I never really thought about it, but now I actually think the tree thing is one of the most genuine moments in the movie.

Think about the last time you had a really, really horrible day. Everything goes wrong. You get home. Everything seems fine. And it's some little thing that sets you off. You spill juice on the floor. You stub your toe. You spill something on your favorite shirt.

It's that sense of "Oh, well... at least nothing else can go wrong." And then it does.