As I do every autumn, I recently broke-out by DVD of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown to relive a piece of my childhood and to put myself in the mood for Halloween. They may not be as ever-present today as they were when I was growing up in the late 70s and early 80s, but when it comes to the holidays, the Peanuts gang will forever be associated with the festivities for their mood-invoking half-hour specials. And though I will always register a certain nostalgia when I think about these mainstays of my childhood, I cannot help but question why I find so much undying affection for a handful of awkward cartoon kids who are mercilessly bullied at the hands of their peers.