While it is nice to watch the shows on dvd, when I can watch them in my own time and in the order that I want, there was something really magical about watching these programs on tv as a child. It was a bit of a production. I remember my brother and Sister K and I getting into our pajamas (those ones with the feet!) before the show started and sitting on our parents' bed while we waited for the end of "PM Magazine" on our CBS affiliate (where Gayle King used to do the news - yes, Oprah's Gayle King.) And then that swirly CBS logo would appear, and we'd all start bouncing up and down while the gentle sounds of the bass, the brushes on the drums and Vince Guaraldi's piano signaled the start of the show. We'd watch on the edge of our seats while Charlie Brown and Linus helped us discover the real meaning of Christmas (and Snoopy imitated barn animals...and a penguin.) It never got old. (And thirty years later, it still isn't old.)
[Completely related, my junior year of college, the translation portion of the Latin final was to translate the beginning of the Gospel of Luke from Latin into English, ie. the Christmas story. Thanks to Linus and his King James Bible, I was the only one who got an "A" on that puppy.]
Back to childhood television, I remember that even the commercials were fun. There were those York Peppermint Patty commercials that I loved. And the Coke commercial with everyone singing. And later, the McDonald's commercial where Ronald McDonald taught the lonely little boy how to skate. You know the ones. Well, guess what? They are on YouTube!!
So here is to recapturing a little bit of youth:
Happy Christmas!!
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