I am in San Francisco for work, and, having a day free, I took the rental car up north to explore Napa, then hike among the giant redwoods. There is nothing more inspiring than walking among trees which first started growing long before the earth had heard of Jesus. On one hand, it makes your own life seem so very brief. Yet, sitting amongst trees taller than many buildings in New York, it also makes living seem so very majestic.
I stopped in a small bookstore near the Russian River and discovered the book Schulz and Peanuts by David Michaelis. The book is a biography and history of the twentieth century's most popular comic strip, Peanuts. As I paid for my book, the bookstore owner told me that the Charles Schulz museum was only about twenty five miles away in Santa Rosa.
I rushed down the highway to make it before the museum closed.
You see, Peanuts has had a profound influence on my life. As a kid, I collected every single Peanuts comic book, purchasing each one at the local Anderson's Bookstore, and reading it until the spine splintered. A part of me related to each character: Charlie Brown's frustrations with his lot in life, Lucy's bombastic prose, Snoopy's cool act, Linus' pensive reflections. I saw a bit of myself in each character.
As I toured the museum, I saw the desk where what would become my own philosophies flowed from Schulz' pens. I found myself laughing at many familiar comic strips displayed on the walls. Surprisingly, I also found myself feeling emotional. I guess it had been a while since I reflected on something that was such a big part of my childhood. As I read from the original versions of strip after strip, I began to see the source of my humor, the font of my happy demeanor, and the point of infection of my good natured, yet sometimes sarcastic, tone.
Through Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and the Peanuts gang, Charles Schulz gave me--and undoubtedly, many people---some insight into life and perspective on how to handle living it. Insight about unrequited love, true friendship, sibling rivalry, armchair philosophy, classical music, materialism, perseverance, simplicity....love...and the joy of a familiar blanket and a warm puppy.
Life lessons, indeed.
