Goodbye old friend. How I will miss you.
I remember the first time I ever saw Charlie Brown and Snoopy. I was a child of the 50's, and TV was an unknown until I was 8 years old.
My world of entertainment consisted of the radio and the many "stories" we listened to..("Let's Pretend" and "The Shadow"), and the funny papers. I was the first one to reach the Sunday paper and extract the 'funnies'.
This was a time in the world when children could believe whatever their imagination wanted, and television had not yet made it to our small Virginia town. There was nothing but our parents to decide if we should hear distressing news in the world.
Our world consisted of Mom and Dad, lazy summer days that seemed to go on forever. Stark, snowy winter days where sledding was the neighborhood pasttime. When you knew that Mom was always home, life was more simple and we were unafraid.
So I was happy to see a new comic strip come to our funnies page. Charlie Brown was a round faced boy with so many of the inadequacies that all children deal with. I had a beagle dog, and I identified that dog with Snoopy (even though his name was Rebel!).
I delighted in their antics. Lucy being the perfect know-it-all that everyone knows in their life. Linus was the little child, trying to grow up, while still tighly clutching his security blanket. Schroeder was the smart little boy we all knew in grade school. Mentally above us all, and seeming to merely to tolerate us regular kids. And Pig Pen of course. We all have a little pigpen in us!
As life progressed and a TV came to our house, I loved the Charlie Brown TV specials at Thanksgiving and Christmas...the broadcasting of which seemed to usher in the season. Charlie Brown was a given in my life. The ageless little boy who dealt with life's frustrations. He would always be around to let me know I was not the only one to have egg on my face from time to time.
I continued to watch and read about Charlie Brown and his gang, long after I reached an age where it was appropriate. He became interwoven with the threads of my life. While the Peanuts gang remains, the creator is gone.
I never met Charles Schultz, but he made a part of my life brighter with his wry sense of humor. I hope he knew how beloved he was by millions of children and adults.
Click Here to Visit The Official Peanuts Website
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