Tag Archives: Snoopy

…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 20)

Posted on by
4

It’s a bird!  It’s a plane!!  It’s the World War I Flying Ace swooping in on his doghouse for a visit to Sun City Peachtree!!!

Snoopy— uh, World War I Flying Ace— must be taking a break from his battle against the Red Baron (real name Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthhofen).  He is probably exhausted, although he had just enough strength to call out, “Curse you, Red Baron!” as he often did following previous battles.

‘Ace has been fighting the Red Baron since October 10, 1965, when he first appeared in The Peanuts Gang comics.  He had a lot of ground support from his troops during his battles, beginning with Schroeder, who kept up morale by playing popular World War I songs on his toy piano.  Woodstock and his bird friends served as mechanics, ‘Ace’s sister, Belle, was a nurse for the troops, and their brother, Spike, served as a member of the infantry.  Marcie provided loyal support as the dashing pilot’s French lass.

During the Vietnam War, an American fighter squadron wanted to use Snoopy the World War I Flying Ace as their mascot, so they sought permission from Charles M. Schulz.  Since Schulz was a veteran himself, he granted approval.

Ultimately, Schulz had changed the focus of ‘Ace from the Red Baron-fighting pilot to battling love and loneliness.  As he confided to writer Rheta Grimsley Johnson in her 1988 book, Good Grief, “It reached a point where war just didn’t seem funny.



…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 11)

Posted on by
Reply

Frieda (with her “naturally curly hair”) stopped by to keep Marcie company, today, on the Sun City Peachtree bench!  Although, at least it looked that way…

More likely, Frieda wanted to show off her beautiful head of red curls to Marcie and (try to) make her jealous.  She is that vain!  The thing is, none of her friends, including Marcie, are jealous of her hair; she just thinks they are and wants to brag about it.  Marcie is too down to earth, though, and Frieda’s hair doesn’t register on her radar.

Frieda is so all about her “naturally curly hair,” that she refuses to wear a baseball cap while playing on Charlie Brown’s baseball team.  She couldn’t possibly cover up those gorgeous curls!

The vain little redhead also has a nasty streak with Snoopy.  She has called the pooch “lazy” and “useless,” because he would rather sleep atop his doghouse than hunt rabbits like other beagles.  This gave Frieda the idea of buying a cat to motivate Snoopy to get over his laziness; however, “Faron” ended up being even lazier!

At least Frieda is nice to Charlie Brown and Linus.  She doesn’t tease them and is sensitive to their feelings.  In fact, Frieda is the only one of the kids that doesn’t tease Linus about his security blanket.  Good on her for that!

As for Frieda’s relationship with Lucy, although they got off to a rocky start, they became friends.  Frieda and Lucy are both outfielders on Charlie’s team; so, during baseball games, they always get distracted chatting with each other, rather than keeping their attention focused on the game.  Oh well; at least it keeps Frieda’s attention off her naturally curly hair!

…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 9)

Posted on by
8

The moment I have been waiting for has arrived:  WOODSTOCK!

There was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to see that little bundle of yellow-feathered cuteness, so I dragged myself out of bed from my post second dose of Moderna- required nap and headed over to the bench.  I was rewarded with the sight of one of my favorite Peanuts Gang characters, Woodstock!  Poor thing; he was looking so confused on his painted rock.  I wonder what he saw that perplexed him so…

No worries, Woodstock, everything will be alright!  Snoopy to the rescue!

Maybe Woodstock’s confused about what type of bird he is, since nobody really knows.  One thing for sure—he doesn’t fly very well, even though his best pal, Snoopy, attempted to teach him how to fly, after the little fellow was abandoned by his mother.

Snoopy, is Woodstock’s “friend of friends,” as the little bird refers to his canine buddy.  Snoopy is the only one who understands Woodstock’s chirps, and they really seem to have a great understanding of one another.  Yes, they do have their squabbles; however, they always make up and hug in the end.

Woodstock, named after the 1969 music festival, may be wing-challenged; however, he is Snoopy’s very capable helicopter pilot.  He is also second-in-command of Snoopy’s Beagle Scouts hikes and is always up for an adventure.  Perhaps that is why he looks so alarmed; Snoopy has left for a hike without him!

Perhaps something happened to his worm.  Like most birds, worms were Woodstock’s favorite food—until he fell in love with one.  I’m not sure what became his favorite cuisine after that.

We’ll never know what Woodstock was thinking today; only Snoopy knows that.  One thing I know for sure, though, is that this little random act of cuteness made my day!

…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 8)

Posted on by
4

The Peanuts Gang took the day off, yesterday, and earlier this morning, the bench near my house remained bare.   When I passed it by on my way to getting my second Moderna vaccine, I was sad to see it empty. 

When I returned, my spirits lifted when I spotted a new addition:  Rerun!

Rerun van Pelt is Lucy and Linus’s little brother.  Born on May 23, 1972, Linus decided to start calling his baby brother “Rerun,” because big sis, Lucy, compared having a second brother to TV reruns.  (I’m sure that’s what my big brother thought of me when I came along after living his first 3-1/2 years with two older sisters.)

Always sporting a cool pair of overalls and spiky hair, Rerun was most often spotted on the back of Mom’s bicycle looking terrified.

At the ripe old age of 1, Rerun joined Charlie Brown’s baseball team.  A few weeks later, their team actually won their first game; however, they were forced to forfeit, due to a gambling scandal.  It was later revealed that Rerun had bet on the game with Snoopy.  At his tender age, it appeared as if Rerun was already making a shady reputation for himself.  As for Snoopy, well, we all know about his shenanigans!

Following the scandal, Charlie Brown wouldn’t let Rerun play on his team, telling him he was too young and too small.  Rerun accused Charlie of discrimination, obtained a court order (signed by no other than Snoopy, the “World Famous Attorney”), and finally got to play.

Rerun also had a go at basketball, when Linus attempted to teach little bro how to play.  The tyke wasn’t any good at the sport, though, and often kicked the ball in frustration, only to have it bounce back at him.  At one point, Rerun tossed the basketball in his closet, closed the door, and said, “You can come out when you learn to behave.”

ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS

Posted on by
2

It occurred to me that I had first seen Charlie Brown from The Peanuts Gang depicted on a painted rock, before I came across yesterday’s discovery of Linus and Snoopy.  I began to wonder if the bench near my Sun City Peachtree home would soon have their pals smiling up at me from painted rocks as well. 

Last night, Bruce and I tried to remember all of The Peanuts Gang:  Charlie Brown and his little sister, Sally; Beethoven-loving pianist, Schroeder; Linus and big sister Lucy; Peppermint Patty and her friend, Marcie; Franklin; Snoopy and his little yellow pal, Woodstock; Snoopy’s brother, Spike; and, then, who could forget Pig-Pen? We actually remembered only nine of the characters; Wikipedia helped me with the rest.

Today, I returned to the bench, and there she was; Peppermint Patty waving hello!  She was keeping Linus and Snoopy company.  So, who will be next?  Stay tuned…

A LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS

Posted on by
10

Since the pandemic began over a year ago, somebody in my Sun City Peachtree community has been leaving painted rocks around the community.  I wrote stories about them, and I never figured out who the artist was behind these little random acts of kindness.

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a very accurate rendition of Charlie Brown; however, I never got around to returning with my camera to capture his sweet grin.

Today, on a beautiful Easter Sunday, the weather was too perfect to not spend some time outside on a walk.  I passed that same bench where I had discovered many other rocks over the past twelve months, and Charlie Brown was gone.  In his place was Linus giving Snoopy a big hug.  Next to them was another rock with a heart.  Who doesn’t love the Peanuts gang?  These little random acts of kindnesses made me smile, and I hope they bring a bit of joy to your day.