What is it that makes Good Ole Charlie Brown so endearing?  He’s hardly the best, the smartest, or the most attractive.  So why is at that we all love him?  For those of you that know me, fair enough — I’m overboard with my love of Peanuts.  But let’s all admit – it’s a rare person that doesn’t like Chuck.

Why?  I think it’s because we all relate to him, if not in one way, in several.

I was never picked first at recess.  Neither is Charlie Brown.  But he doesn’t let it get him down.  No matter how many times he’s hit with the baseball while on the mound, he’s ready for another pitch.  And no matter how many times Lucy swipes that football away from under his feet leaving him flat on his @#(*!#%, screaming, “You BLOCKHEAD!!”, he gets up the next time, determined he’ll succeed.

I was never the most popular girl in school.  Never the one with all the boys chasing me, and certainly not the THE boy, you know the one.  The one who kept me awake at night, wishing he would call, ask me on a date, and to the prom, the one whose last name I pretended that I’d someday share (don’t all teenage girls do that?).  Charlie Brown has similar thoughts about the Little Red-Headed Girl.  He might not write “Little Red-Headed Girl Brown” on pieces of paper and plan their wedding, but he has plans of his own.  In fact, during a sleepless night in the classic, A Charlie Brown Valentine, he thinks, “I’ll tell that Little Red-Haired Girl that I love her. Then I’ll give her a big hug. Then I’ll go bungee-jumping from the moon.” Charlie Brown symbolizes eternal hope — in life and in love. I admire and believe in that hope. With good reason. Thomas and I held our wedding reception at the Schulz Museum last October.

Perhaps Mr. Schulz says it best. I found the following quote on the Charles M. Schulz Museum website (www.schulzmuseum.org)  (well worth the trip in person and online):

“I like to think of Charlie Brown as being an ‘Everyman’—most people would admit to feeling a bit like him at times….”

—Charles M. Schulz

Charlie Brown keeps his head held high, regardless of his strikes, missed kicks and troubles in love.  He never gives up.   Neither should we.  In anything we do.

Take Flight!

– Shelby Sheffield Hartmann 4/28/2010

Every now and then, I’ll write a column (being new to blogging I’m not sure that’s how to classify it, but forgive my ignorance – again, I’m new to blogging, Twitter, and still don’t know how to properly upload photos on Facebook…) called “Book Club”.
Book Club Entry #1 is dedicated to Michael Pollan’s book, Food Rules, An Eater’s Manual.
I know, I know. You’re probably thinking this is just another book about eating the right amount of protein, carbs and fats. Why shouldn’t you be? We are bombarded with information on how to eat, what to eat, when to eat all the time. Even reality TV has taken up the food war!
But I’m telling you – Food Rules is different. It is funny. Useful. Insightful. Simple. Practical. It contains advice that is easy to read, memorable and the kind of stuff that you will (at least I think you will) want to talk about with your friends.

When writing the book, Pollan, instead of researching how the body breaks down certain foods or how many calories are contained in X versus Y, consulted folklorists, anthropologists, doctors, nurses, nutritionists and dietitians on how people should eat. But Pollan didn’t stop there. He sought the advice of — let’s face it – real people! He talked to countless numbers of mothers and grandmothers. He wanted to know — what rules should people follow when it comes to food? He solicited rules from his own readers and the general public via blogs! When all was said and done, after receiving over thousands of suggestions, Pollan narrowed it down to 64 rules. Thus the book, aptly titled, Food Rules, An Eater’s Manual, was born.

Here are my Top Ten of Pollan’s rules:
1. Don’t eat anything your grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
2. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
3. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.
4. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
5. It’s not food if it’s called the same name in every language (think Big Mac, Cheetos, Pringles).
6. Eat your colors.
7. The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.
8. Have a glass of wine with dinner (Ok, yes, that’s my #1, but I’m going in order of how they appear in the book!).
9. Stop eating before you’re full.
10. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.
So, those are my Top Ten, but I strongly encourage you to read the entire book – it’s quick and easy, but most of all, it’s fun.
Take Flight!!