"Peanuts" Is Timeless, Pt. 1

When Charles Schulz passed away in 2000, on the same day that his final original "Peanuts" strip appeared in newspapers worldwide, the media coverage was actually respectful and level-headed, recognizing the near-unfathomable influence had and contribution made by a man who drew children and animals for 50 years of his life. It seemed, on that dour February Sunday, that all the right things were said, and all the right clips were shown.

One remembrance, however, missed the mark; and right at the very end, to boot. Can't recall offhand which network it was, but I do have it on tape somewhere (I taped a total of 5 hours in Schulz TV tribute coverage). As the piece ended, the male voiceover repeated the words of Schulz' final strip and added his own journalistic period: "'Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and Lucy...how can I ever forget them?' You can bet it will be a long time before any of us will be able to forget them, either."

While I suppose hedging your bets is commendable, the likelihood of "Peanuts" ever slipping from shared consciousness is right up there with Meg White learning how to do a proper drum fill.

A key factor is the instant and resonant relateability of so many of the strips themselves. The baseball runs speak to the incessant losing streak many people call life; Linus' security blanket is a nifty stand-in for any number of emotional crutches clung to by millions; and who has never felt the pain/pang of unrequited love? And it goes on.

But who knew Schulz could predict the future? Who knew that this lifelong fan of the Giants baseball team would write a baseball strip, so hilarious in its absurd inevitability, that Giants fans of 2007 could relate to through bitter tears?

Simply brilliant.

(Jury is still out on whether a strip run from this same period where Snoopy is put in the hospital was animal lover Schulz' warning about the Mike Vick dog-fighting controversy.)



Armando Benitez Peanuts Charles Schulz