Midnight and the Great Pumpkin

 

Midnight will be celebrating his second Halloween with us this year. He is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the neighborhood children, dressed as ghosts and goblins. He’s not really sure what it’s all about; and I think all the commotion kind of scares him a bit; but he does take an active interest in the proceedings. He will be found; I’m sure; waiting in the bushes, alternately leaping out to frighten someone, or just to check them out. He is especially partial to Princesses and Pirates.

And, when all the tricksters have retreated from the street, you will find him patiently awaiting the arrival of the Great Pumpkin; who will undoubtedly treat him to a can of salmon as a reward for being so brave on a night when black cats generally make themselves scarce.

"My Life With Charlie Brown" by Charles M. Schulz edited by M. Thomas Inge

This book was a total surprise to me. I grew up reading Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts gang. My freinds and I were always entertained at holiday times with the Halloween and Christmas specials. They are still played today for a whole new generation. There's a reason why these classic characters are still valid today.

Charles Schulz never wrote a full autobiography. Rather, he left a series of speeches, Commencement Addresses and a few short writings about his life before and after the creation of Peanuts. Mr. Inge has taken these various writings and given us a work that is as close to an autobiography as may be possible.

Mr. Schulz was a very devoted Christian. In addition to his daily syndicated Peanuts strip, he wrote some inspirational Peanuts strips for over 70 Christian publications.Mr. Inge also reprints here some of the inspirational speeches given by Mr. Schulz, in which he expounds upon the thin line he walked in order to get his message of Faith out to the general public in his daily strip.

His war time experience is tremendously underplayed, he only writes of it in terms of a timeline. The day he was drafted his mother died. When the war was over he found that he was a Christian. No spark, no magic moment. Just a realization of his Faith in the wake of losing his mother and then his experiences in the war.

A great history of the Peanuts strip told by the creator himself. For instance, did you know that Mr. Schulz wanted to call the strip "Li'l Folks" but couldn't because there had been an earlier strip called "Little Folks"? Or that he wanted it to be called "Good Ol' Charlie Brown" instead? The syndicate came up with the "Peanuts" title, which Mr. Schulz despised until the end.

His philosphies and motivations are all laid bare in these priceless letters and speeches. They offer a unique insight into one of America's most beloved comic strips - "Good Ol' Charlie Brown."