Friday, August 5, 2011

YOU ARE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN

Charlie Brown is a lovable loser. He can’t win at baseball or fly a kite without facing disappointment and ultimate failure. He has insecurities and is often taken advantage of by his peers. Lucy holds a football for Charlie Brown to kick, but pulls it away before he kicks it, causing Charlie Brown to fly into the air and fall on his back.

Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown, is the most widely syndicated cartoonist in history, with work appearing in over 2,300 newspapers. He published more than 1,400 books, won Peabody and Emmy awards for animated specials. You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown is the one of the most-produced musicals in the American theater. All this diversity and recognition and continuous success began when the United Feature Syndicate ran the first installment of the comic strip Peanuts in 1950. The strip deals in psychology, social commentary and often bitter humor yet all these issues are experienced, evaluated, and ultimately decided upon by a group of kids."There is a market for innocence" Schulz once said “I don't think I'm a true artist. I would love to be Andrew Wyeth or Picasso...But I can draw pretty well and I can write pretty well, and I think I'm doing the best with whatever abilities I have been given. And what more can one ask?"

What makes Charlie Brown so lovable is that he possesses endless determination and hope. What makes Charles Schulz so remarkable is that he nurtured Charlie Brown and the Peanuts franchise for more than five decades and remained humble and hard at work his whole life. .

You're a good man, Charlie Brown
You're the kind of reminder we need
You have humility, nobility and a sense of honor
that is very rare indeed.

Good Grief. What could be more inspiring that the determination and perseverance of good ole Charlie Brown and his creator Charles M. Schulz? Both characters remind us never to give up and to the best we can with the abilities we have.