Sue Thornquist
My family was mad for “Peanuts” cartoons. Championed by my father who loved Charles Schultz and his eclectic comic children, my brother Eric, sister Sara and I read the funnies every Sunday with our parents. We followed the doings of philosopher Linus, his bossy sibling Lucy, maligned Charlie Brown and little sis Sally, school-phobic Peppermint Patty and her sidekick Marcie.
Being a tennis family, we were interested in Snoopy’s competitive matches, but we also appreciated his writing endeavors, his friendship with Woodstock, and his adventures. We collected the collected works of those strips from their earliest beginnings through all the years they were published.
When I went to Augustana College in Rock Island IL (1976-1980), long before cell phones or email communication, it is no surprise that many letters I received were written on Snoopy cards. Three-way foldable cards, an expandable postcard style, sans envelopes.
What was surprising is that the Snoopy cards were from brother Eric, eight years younger than I--so 4th-7th grade during my college years. Now, most of my friends in college at the time were NOT getting handwritten snail mail from their little brothers. But because I was so much older that I often looked out for him, Eric and I always had a bond that involved a close communication. Girlfriends, school events, Mom & Dad, classes & teachers, we talked about it. While at Augie, I made sure to connect with him on the Sunday night phone calls, and I wrote him an occasional letter. He wrote me back.
I recently found half dozen cards I had kept and stored in a small cedar box. They are usually 7-12 lines long, each sentence reporting on something different—the bowling league scores, the Halloween party, the football season, his sickness, how he wore the Augustana shirt I had given him, what they had for dinner. One is even TYPED! Several notes start with, “How have you been. I am fine.” Often they request I offer some ideas for future writing topics, or give him a call because he was bored talking to Mom and Dad. In others, he gives me a “gentle reminder” to “GET SOME SLEEP, STUPID!” His version of what he heard my parents tell me every call.
Ultimately, they are funny and lovely glimpses into a relationship I treasure, and a indicator of who Eric was and is--someone who values relationships and the communication it takes to maintain them. Thanks, Snoopy.