I remember it like it was yesterday . . . a biting cold snowy winters’ eve. The wind howled through the trees, a grey landscape blanketed with a new-fallen snow, reflecting the dim glow of streetlights. Like fluffy white sand the snow drifted across the streets and yards. Trudging through the snow that night burned this scene into my memory for one reason, A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Delivering the Canton Daily Ledger in 1968, my first job. Bundled up, running from house-to-house, invited in to get warm, provided me glimpses of the television special destined to become a classic.
That memory was triggered by a mid-summer visit to the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, CA. A long way from blistering cold wind and deep snow drifts. However, as we strolled the galleries vivid impressions of how Peanuts shaped my life as a small boy flooded my thoughts.
The Peanuts Cartoon Strip is the heart and soul of the collection. The Museum’s collection represents a wide breadth of Schulz’s thematic work from 1950 to 2000. Numbering nearly 6,000 drawings for daily and Sunday newspaper pages.
Remember Charlie Brown’s legendary kick? Inevitability Lucy merrily snatches victory from Chuck. That image, a 17 x 22 foot tile mural, adorns the south wall of the Great Hall. It is composed of 3,588 Peanuts comic strip images printed on individual 2- by 8-inch ceramic tiles.
How about the kite eating tree? Stroll to the courtyard, there you will see the infamous tree that always frustrated poor Charlie Brown.
My personal favorite, the exhibit titled Leveling the Playing Field. On display was original artwork of Charlie Brown baseball cap atop his head, poised with right index finger raised, lecturing his team; “Today team we face the beginning of a new season.” Always positive he continues . . . “The success of the team depends a lot upon its attitude. We can look forward to this season with real anticipation.” The final frame, the team with the caption, “No we’re looking forward to it with real horror!”
With my thoughts dancing between the memory of that cold windy night and the sheer joy of life's rich experiences triggered by a comic strip, I pensively smile and once again experience the delight of re-discovery . . . maybe it was just yesterday.
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