Growing up in Minnesota, Schulz jumped ahead a couple of grades. When you're the youngest and the skinniest in your class, you're picked on. Like Charlie Brown, he learned to get beyond that.
We thought that we had ruined Charlie Brown.
I've always said that the reason 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' is a classic is because it reflects the Midwest values that Charles Schulz grew up with.
Charlie Brown's message, decrying the commercialization of Christmas, is even more relevant today than it was in 1965.