The Zen of Snoopy

The sun finally made a brief appearance in Manitowoc yesterday and I found myself thinking of one of my favorite childhood characters, Snoopy.  Remember the Snoopy dance?  The dance that all the Peanuts' characters did when things (finally) went their way?  They would throw back their heads, stick their noses in the air, and dance on their toes until the credits stopped rolling.  No character conveyed joy more completely than Snoopy.  If a day could feel like a Snoopy dance, yesterday was that day.

The best Peanuts' adventures (in my humble opinion) featured Snoopy and Woodstock with an occasional cameo by Snoopy's brother Spike.  Despite their inability to talk, or maybe because of it, these characters with their rich fantasy lives epitomized the reality of childhood.  Woodstock and Snoopy's friendship rang true.  They would argue and Woodstock would fly off in his haphazard fashion while Snoopy gave him an unintelligible tongue-lashing while shaking his fist.  Or Woodstock would end up in a scrape, often because of his size, and Snoopy would run to the rescue (after laughing that dirty Snoopy laugh at his predicament).  One always believed that some day Snoopy would get the Red Baron because Snoopy would never give up.  Who of us a child didn't wish that we would go for a walk and find a pet just like Snoopy?  We reveled in the joy of Snoopy and his adventures.

 

I suppose a character like Charlie Brown had to have a dog like Snoopy.  Even as a child, we recognized him as the biggest loser we had never met.  We would not have been able to bear reading his adventures if he hadn't had a dog like Snoopy or a philosophical friend like Linus.  (Kind of like when the Brady Bunch formed a singing group, went on the road, and became THE most embarrassing show to watch.)  Snoopy, Charlie and the gang have managed to stay relevant and relatable despite having lost their creator over twelve years ago.  Spring is the time to stop and smell the flowers, and do the Snoopy dance.  Snoopy would want you to.  Stop by the library and check out The Complete Peanuts (1950-1985).  We might even let you practice the dance.