Sinister: put the comic strip back on the shelf

[Walkn10 at xxx.com]

In a message dated 2/13/00 9:12:27 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
no_surprises_21 at hotmail.com writes:

<< For any of you who didn't hear already...not only was Sunday the last ever 
 new Peanuts comic strip..but late Saturday night Charles Shultz passed away. 
 >>

Talk about a terrible weekend.  His son said that after Mr. Schultz decided 
to end the strip in December he seemed to lose his will to fight, and coupled 
with colon cancer and Parkinson's Disease, it didn't look promising.  Its 
comforting to know that he died in his sleep, but something would be terribly 
wrong with a man who brought happiness and comfort to millions dying a 
painful death from cancer.
I kind of formed an unhealthy bond with the strip in high school when 
everything in my life seemed to go wrong and the strip was the only thing 
that made sense to me (especially the way Charlie Brown handled defeat).  
Schultz said he wrote the strip with adults and high schoolers in mind 
because they were the only ones who could truly appreciate childhood for what 
it was.  I agree with Chris that the holidays cartoons will never be topped.  
Personally, I can't imagine Christmas or Thanksgiving without their 
respective Charlie Brown episodes, and when you think about, I really can't 
imagine how America got on without the strip at all.  Its probably not too 
evident to the UK folks on the list, but such a huge portion of our American 
lexicon and consciousness were formed by the strip that its end is pretty 
scary.  I guess in a way its really sad that Charlie Brown never talked to 
the little red-haired girl, never hit the winning homerun, never kicked the 
football and never got a Valentine, but I like it better that way.  Snoopy 
never finished his novel, never won a battle with the Red Baron and never won 
a case in court.  Life rarely works out the way we intend, and I think that 
was the essence of Chuck Brown and the entire Peanuts crew.
It was kind of comforting to know that even though the strip had ended, 
Schultz would still be with us and hopefully recovering from cancer.  Its 
doubly distressing to lose the strip and its creator in the same weekend, 
right before Chuck Brown's vaunted Valentine's Day.  I had always hoped to 
send him a letter or meet him in person, but I guess I missed my chance.
Sorry for pissing on everyone's Valentine's Day...

Steve C.


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