C'mon? Charlie Brown? Really?

The following sentence is probably not one anyone ever expected to see in print.

I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas last night, and it made me really angry.

Not the content. That show has been on the planet 3 years longer than I have, and it still seems much younger than I do. I still occaisionally try to duplicate some of the characters' dance moves... which explains why my wife never complains that we don't go clubbing enough (yes, feel free to insert your favorite Tiger Woods joke here, I am taking the high road this time).

What set me off? THEY CUT THE SHOW! C'mon? Charlie Brown? Really? As Joel once said on MST3K, "If you take out the Dolly Madison commercials, the entire show is actually only 3 minutes long." But they cut it anyway. They cut an entire sequence...you know, the one where Lucy makes Schroeder play jingle bells 4 times, until he finally just plays it with one finger, she yells, "That's it!!", and he goes flying away. Don't look at me that way, you know exactly what I'm talking about...don't pretend you are more cool then I am.

They cut the whole bit!

How sad is that? And how sad is it that made me angry?

I get angry alot anymore...sometimes with reason, sometimes without. I think part of it is just simply I am not as good as repressing my emotions as I used to be. Whether this is a good or bad thing is open to debate, but that's the way it is. However, I think in this case I know how my warped mind locked on to this.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. Anything. I did all the right things. I paid attention in school. I worked to pay for my college. I didn't do drugs. I never stole or cheated. I cleaned my room. I did everything I was asked to do, and now for all my efforts, the infamous "they" can't even leave my childhood alone! They can't just leave even the tiniest portion of my innocence intact without trying to get another 30 seconds of advertising in my face so they can separate me from more of my money.

I bought into it all. I was the nice respectful guy. I never caused any trouble. I took my place in the system. When do I get my reward? Where is my flying car? Why am I stressed out at work everyday, but trapped because there are no other jobs out there?

Why can't I just remember , for a few minutes every year, the time when Christmas was magical for me... a time when I didn't have to look through my son's eyes on occaision to feel how special this time is? Instead, I have to be reminded how much things have changed...of what we've all lost along the way.

C'mon, guys... if I promise to buy a couple more twinkies, could you just give me back that 30 seconds of my past? I promise I'll still be good...