Ghostwheel
Pyrrhonist
One interesting thing I can say from personal experience: when I lived alone, things were where they always were. I put them someplace and you could depend on it being there the next time. However, after living with my family, I can never be sure where anything is (I swear, if someone puts my tools in the wrong drawer one more time.....I mean, they are marked with what goes in them....). This was brought to point just recently when a diagnostic tool I had (yes, had) was needed. I went to the place I had stored it for seven years and it was there. I gave it to spousey to use. Spousey used it, and instead of putting it away, left it on the table. We all saw it left on the table. It's gone. No one can find it anywhere. It's not in it's original location, or any other location we can find. We even searched the vegetable crisper (that has happened before).I just registered, after reading quite a few comments over a lot of threads and some of my thoughts may be coming late over things you have moved on from, but there were a few things that I didn't see that were also considerations. The fishing pole and Cory's comments about knowing were it was located in the house. What did Mark and Dylan do the last time Dylan came to visit? Did they go fishing together? Cory was very adamant where the pole was, but on some level my mind was thinking how do you really know unless you have been there recently? Stuff around my house, even the usual places they are suppose to be, are not always there if recently used for something. I grew up in a household that fished a lot. I had a pole that everyone called mine, but when my dad went on fishing trips by himself or with his friends he still took my pole with him. So, I can't help but note that as being odd in my mind, because I am unsure of how he would know where the pole recently was located.
Even so, the fact that Cory finds it so strange that Mark notices a fishing pole missing before noticing Dylan's backpack missing means that, in Cory's experience, the fishing pole would USUALLY be in the garage. Not that it was on that particular day, just that it USUALLY was in the garage. And if it wasn't on that particular day, why wasn't it? Obviously Cory did not think the fishing pole normally lived in the house. (That would be a bit unusual)