On Charlie Brown Nerdiness

I stopped at the post office this evening to mail a last few Christmas cards and buy some everyday stamps. (For those playing at home, I bought a sheet of the DC Heroes stamps–you have no idea what the Supergirl stamp did for the not-girlfriend’s self-esteem.) And on the counter they had a display of CDs, a special collection of Charlie Brown Christmas music.

Now, I have the original soundtrack CD, had it for about twelve years now. (Note to self: Get the new remaster issue of the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack.) I bought the 40th-anniversary cover album when that came out. And there have been a few cover albums of Vince Guaraldi’s music–I have several of those, too. So when it comes to Vince Guaraldi, Charlie Brown, and Christmas music, you’d think I’m set, right?

Except that all of my Christmas music, except for Barenaked for the Holidays, is lost somewhere in the basement. I know where it is. I know which door to open to look at it. The only problem is I can’t get at it. (I think that maybe by spring I’ll be settled from this move. Maybe….) And one can live only so long on Fleming and John’s “Winter Wonderland”…. 😉

It was ten dollars. I could float that. So I picked up the CD.

The cover is a picture of Charlie Brown and Snoopy… and Rerun.

From a distance, someone might think it’s Linus. It’s not Linus. It’s Linus’ little brother, Rerun.

Is it geeky or nerdy that I can tell, at a glance, the difference between Linus and Rerun?

Most people can’t tell the difference between Linus and Rerun–Rerun looks like a smaller Linus. But I knew, without having to flip the jewel case over, that it was Rerun. (On the back you see Charlie Brown and Rerun standing side by side, and it’s clear that Rerun is significantly smaller than Charlie Brown, something that isn’t clear on the front.)

I like Rerun. Rerun doesn’t get the attention that his older siblings get–he was introduced late, in 1972, and then wasn’t a significant character in the Peanuts strip until the early 1990s. The last few years of the strip were done largely from Rerun’s point of view, from his trials with kindergarten to his encounter with the marble hustler to the time that Lucy had him hold the football for Charlie Brown when she was called away. Rerun was cool, and I loved reading about Rerun.

Maybe that’s why I can tell the difference between Linus and Rerun.

But still. Geeky or nerdy?

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

3 thoughts on “On Charlie Brown Nerdiness

  1. Geeky.. Pure geek.

    Dude.. WTF is the fat guy from What’s Happening doing on a Charlie Brown Christmas Cd?!?! 😉

    OOOOOHHHH- THAT Rerun. Yeah, still geek.
    I still remember when they had Charlie Brown cartoon show on saturdays. My brother and I use to watch the show together and I would have to explain that “the kid on the bike was Rerun, the little brother of Linus and Lucy”

  2. Yeah, I’d go for geek. I can tell them apart, though. (So, you’re not alone.) Rerun has scruffier hair. He’s also wearing suspenders sometimes.

    The only thing I can play on the piano is assorted Vince Guaraldi. Ah, well that and John’s IMAGINE.

    -Wes

Leave a Reply to Wesley Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *