Flying Kite

The Peanuts comic strip ran from October 2, 1950 to February 13, 2000. I’ve heard that makes it the longest story told by a single person. Charles Schultz got the name from the peanut gallery, the cheap seats in a vaudeville theater, where you might find people whose opinions don’t matter. The comic strip centers around a single character named Charlie Brown, the lovable loser. The simplest things elude him, like kicking a football, winning a baseball game, getting a valentine or flying a kite. We don’t love Charlie Brown because he’s a victim of chronic bad luck. We love him because he never stops believing his luck could change. It doesn’t matter how many times Lucy pulls the football out of his reach. It doesn’t matter how many times his kite is eaten by a tree. He’ll never give up hope. He’ll never stop trying. You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.