Thank you, Charlie Brown

I love watching certain holiday shows. They take me back to my kitten-hood. A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my favorites. Here are some moments I particularly like:

Lucy says to Charlie, with a cartoon leer: “You DO think I'm beautiful, don't you, Charlie Brown"

Poor, foolish Charlie pauses. In that moment, he’s dead. We all know it. We all cringe. And yet this is hilarious, because who hasn’t been there--paused for a second too long?

Of course Lucy, being Lucy, lets fly: “You didn't answer me right away. You had to think about it first, didn't you? If you really had thought I was beautiful, you would've spoken right up. I know when I've been insulted. I KNOW WHEN I'VE BEEN INSULTED.”

To which Charlie Brown replies: “Good grief.”

Exactly. I so relate to this. Something tells me that I’m not alone, either.

Or, how about when Linus says: “I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.”

This is why I adore Linus. So sweet. So insightful. So sensitive.

I also applaud the sarcastic, snarky side of Charlie Brown:

[Charlie] “Thanks for the Christmas card you sent me, Violet.”

[Violet] “I didn't send you a Christmas card, Charlie Brown.”

[Charlie] “Don't you know sarcasm when you hear it?”

This cracks me up every time.

These days, I also appreciate some of the dialogue much more than when I was a kid. For example, when Lucy is talking about Christmas gifts:

“. . .I never get what I really want. I always get a lot of stupid toys or a bicycle or clothes or something like that.”

Which prompts Charlie Brown to ask: “What is it you want?

“Real estate,” Lucy says.

Smart girl, I think (now).

And, one of the greatest chunks of dialogue from Linus:

“Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. Maybe Lucy's right. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest.”

How great are these moments? Add in the Snoopy dancing, the Linus speech, and the way everyone comes together at the end around the once sad, rejected little tree, and you've got yourself a lovely little holiday treat. Thank you, Charles Schulz.