A Charlie Brown Christmas

     According to Wikipedia:
     "A Charlie Brown Christmas is a 1965 animated television special, and is the first TV special based on the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. Produced by Lee Mendelson and directed by Bill Melendez, the program made its debut on CBS on December 9, 1965.

     Did anyone instinctively know the first time they saw A Charlie Brown Christmas and heard the Vince Guaradi Trio that their album would become such a hit? I'd like to believe I did, but time has proven it true despite my imaginings. Such an irreverent and catchy tune like Linus and Lucy which Schroeder can't seem to stop himself from playing is anything but a Christmas or Hanukkah song, but is intimately associated with this time of year.

     I always liked that there never were any adults in the Peanuts comic strips, TV shows or movies. Only "Wa Wa Wa" is ever heard and that's ok. Kids don't always need adult supervision and around the holidays even more so. Adults need a holiday, too.

     I usually make an appointment with my TV to annually watch this special, instead of watching it as a stream as I do with most everything else. As I grow older the penultimate moment is no less inspiring. It occurs, of course, when Linus helps Charlie Brown out of his quandary about the true meaning of Christmas. I don't think anyone wouldn't like a friend like Linus. Maybe not all your life but certainly from ages 5 to 10. Funny thing is while the audience can readily see this true friend, it's never verbally recognized as far as I know by Charlie Brown himself. That's probably the reason Lucy used to call him a blockhead or maybe I just missed something.