Tag Archives: Charlie Brown

Today in Halloween: ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’

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My lifelong love of all things Halloween is no doubt based, to a great extent, on the Charlie Brown Halloween experience.

I’m not sure I saw “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” when it first aired in 1966. Even if I saw it the following year, it quickly became part of my Halloween ritual, skipped only when – gasp – it conflicted with actual trick-or-treating.

But what a sublime show.

The TV take on Halloween (and fall) storylines from Charles M. Schulz’ classic “Peanuts” comic strip, written by Schulz, directed by Bill Melendez and featuring another classic “Peanuts” score by Vince Guaraldi, “Great Pumpkin” became the embodiment of Halloween for many of us:

The opening sequence, as Lucy and Linus pick out a pumpkin to carve, much to Linus’ horror.

Linus’ letter to the Great Pumpkin and the seduction of the innocent, Sally.

Trick-or-treating after Charlie Brown has some trouble with the scissors and gets more than his share of rocks.

The Halloween party.

Snoopy – or the World War I flying ace – making his way across a scarred landscape, in a series of shots so moody and somber they would never see air in a new special today.

The disappointment in the pumpkin patch.

ABC is showing “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” at 8 on Halloween night. Beware half-hour TV timeslots, because the show has been edited over the years. Better to enjoy the full special on disc.

 

 

iPhoneography: Christmas stuff!

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You knew it was inevitable: After posting pictures of Halloween masks, costumes and decor available for sale, was there any doubt I would be posting pics of Christmas stuff?

Well, I had some doubts. There’s not as much outrageous Christmas stuff out there — no Navidad equivalents of Zombie Babies, for example — so there might not be enough material for weeks and weeks of posts.

So we’ll see where this takes us.

Since “A Charlie Brown Christmas” debuted in 1965, the “Peanuts” creations of Charles M. Schulz have been forever linked to the holiday for many of us. A few years ago, some canny company began marketing versions of the Charlie Brown pathetic Christmas tree.

So seeing Charlie and Snoopy and pals “decking them halls” on the lawn seems perfectly appropriate.

If you’d like to make a silent statement, there’s good ol’ Snoopy alone. And he’s fuzzy!

I’m at a loss to explain the Santa Pig. Maybe some clued-in reader will enlighten me.

In the spirit of the season, how about a couple of pretty Christmas pics? These are of the big tree in the middle of the Von Maur department store at Castleton Square Mall on the north side of Indianapolis.

Next time!

 

Trick-or-treating, Charlie Brown style

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“I got a rock.”

Charlie Brown’s lament — from the classic 1966 TV show “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” — has, for the past 40-some years, echoed in my head every Oct. 31.

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday, although it gets short shrift some years when such grown-up concerns as work prompts my family to push jack-o-lantern carving back to the night itself.

Then there was the year of my ill-advised suggestion that the family travel to a neighborhood on the other side of town to see what was reported to be an especially elaborate Halloween yard display. Of course, everyone else in town had that same idea and the resulting traffic jam on neighborhood streets meant that we almost — almost — didn’t get back to our own neighborhood in time for trick-or-treating.

But stressful Halloween memories are, thankfully, few for me.

I’ve enjoyed two great periods of Halloween in my life. In recent years, the chance to take my son trick-or-treating marks one of the highlights of the fall for me. Him too, I hope.

And of course, there’s the good old days. Halloween classic.

Growing up on a farm in a rural area, I never got to go trick-or-treating in my own neighborhood. Houses were few and far between and neighbors were so unaccustomed to having trick-or-treaters that you’d be better off expecting to find treats in our chicken coop.

But because my cousin Mary lived in the city, my family usually went to her house on Halloween and from there the kids went trick-or-treating.

Back then, in the 1960s, we went trick-or-treating for more than one night. Some people don’t believe me when I tell them this. Some people think we were deluding ourselves and were actually “shaking down” my cousin’s neighbors for candy several days in a row.

I’m sure that’s not true. Pretty sure.

Ahem.

Anyway. My cousin and I and several friends would set out at dark, costumes on and bags in hand, and it seemed like we ranged all over the south side of Muncie. I’ve previously noted in this blog the problems with wearing a mask over glasses. The glasses tended to fog up and reduce visibility. Being out at night, roaming over city blocks illuminated only by porch lights, made it even harder to see. My costume one particular year consisted of a painted-on beard, goofy hat and paint-spattered shirt. It was pretty low-rent but at least I could see.

As gratifying as the treats were, the tricks were just as good. One year, as our group approached a front porch, the resident of the house pulled a rope and caused a dummy to fall from a tree near us. As we shrieked and ran away from the house, other people, wearing masks and lying in wait, chased us.

We ran wildly into the street, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a passing car.

Good times.

Now when I go along as my son trick-or-treats, I get to enjoy the gruesome costumes on the older kids and the awfully cute ones on the little folks. I remind my son to say “trick or treat” and “thank you.” I carry a flashlight to help motorists see us.

It all seems pretty tame compared to my youth, when it seemed as if we roamed and pillaged across a wide swath of the city for the better part of the week.

But, you know, it’s still trick or treating and there’s not much better than that.