Lessons Learned from The Great Pumpkin

[FCTP]

When I was young, the Peanuts comic strip was my favorite and when The Great Pumpkin came on, I hurried to get my bath, put on my PJs, and I would watch it with my sister and brother while eating popcorn and hot chocolate. When my children were born, I loved to watch the Peanuts movies with them in their PJs, eating popcorn and drinking hot chocolate.  We would always talk about life’s lessons learned from the show.  Now my grandchildren are enjoying the Peanut stories in their PJs with popcorn and hot chocolate.  With all the changes pushing down on us, it is nice to know that the Peanut stories have remained the same.  Life has changed but the lessons inside each of the Peanut stories haven’t. 

 

Some of my favorite lessons learned from The Great Pumpkin are:

 

Personal Responsibility

 

Sally Brown: I was robbed! I spent the whole night waiting for the Great Pumpkin, when I could have been out for tricks or treats. Halloween is over, and I missed it!

[pointing at Linus]

Sally Brown: You blockhead! You kept me up all night waiting for the Great Pumpkin, and all that came was a beagle! I didn't get a chance to go out for tricks or treats. And it was all your fault! I'll sue! What a fool I was! I could have had candy apples and gum and cookies and money and all sorts of things. But no! I had to listen to you, you blockhead. What a fool I was. Trick or treats come only once a year, and I missed it by sitting in a pumpkin patch with a blockhead.

Sally Brown: YOU OWE ME RESTITUTION!

 

(Lesson learned:  Poor Sally.  She made a personal decision to forgo trick or treating to wait on the Great Pumpkin in what Linus stated was the most sincere pumpkin patch.  When things didn’t turn out the way she thought, she blamed Linus for it. She didn’t take personal responsibility for her own decisions.  Reminds me of those who want personal bailouts for signing mortgage documents or student loan documents.  Things just didn’t go as planned and now they want to point their fingers at others instead of taking responsibility for themselves and paying off the debts they owe.  Life is not always fair and sometimes we make bad decisions.  When we do, we must own them and move forward.) 

 

Favoritism

 

Charlie Brown: Hey! I got an invitation to a Halloween party!

Lucy Van Pelt: Is the invitation to Violet's party, Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown: Yes. It's the first time I've been invited to a party.

Lucy Van Pelt: Charlie Brown, if you got an invitation, it was a mistake. There were two lists, Charlie Brown: one to invite, and one not to invite. You must have been put on the wrong list.

 

(Lesson Learned:  Poor Charlie.  Has he not realized that the government decides who the winners and losers are?  If you are on their “list,” you get special deals, incentives, bailouts, and goodies.  If you are not on their “list,” you get to fend for yourself against regulations, healthcare mandates, and other big government rules.  It’s all about the lists in today’s world and that just isn’t right or Constitutional.  You should be making your own list of winners and losers and vote for Constitutional-lovers in 2012.)

 

 

Candidates

 

Charlie Brown: You just want me to come running up to kick that football, so you pull it away and see me flat on my back and kill myself.

Lucy Van Pelt: This time you can trust me. See? I have a signed document testifying that I won't pull it away.

Charlie Brown: It *is* signed. It's a signed document. I guess if you have a signed document in your possession, you can't go wrong. This year I'm really going to kick that football.

[Charlie Brown runs to kick football, but Lucy pulls it away]

Charlie Brown: Aauugh!

[falls on his back]

Lucy Van Pelt: Peculiar thing about this document: it was never notarized.

 

(Lessons Learned:  Poor Charlie again.  He knew he couldn’t trust Lucy.  Her behaviors in the past showed that she could not be trusted with that football.  Just like today – as we listen to candidates make promises, we must do our research on past behaviors and voting records.  Some are saying one thing now that they are running for office yet they did the opposite in their past.  Watch out or the football may be pulled from you in 2012!)

 

 

Truth

 

Patty: [as Linus is writing to the Great Pumpkin] You're wasting your time; the Great Pumpkin is a fake!

Linus: [writing to the Great Pumpkin] Everyone tells me you are a fake, but I believe in you. P.S.: If you really are a fake, don't tell me. I don't wanna know.

 

(Lesson Learned:  Poor Linus.   Like many of us in today’s world, we just don’t want to know the truth.  We bury our head in the sand and hope that what we are seeing isn’t so and it will go away.  Unfortunately that just will not happen.  Evil forces are at work and are systematically trying to take down our precious America and our freedoms.  Pretending it isn’t so will not change the truth.  Do your research, attend educational seminars, watch video content from organizations such as the Heritage Foundation or go to the library and discover truth for yourself.  Seek truth and you will be free.)

 

The First Coast Tea Party has many opportunities for you to find out the truth about specific topics that apply to your freedoms.  Check out upcoming events at our Events page at www.fctpcommunity.org/events.  We have candidates coming soon to speak and experts on topics such as Agenda 21 and Survival Techniques will share their expertise with you too.

 

We hope you will become a part of the Tea Party Movement and get involved for the 2012 Elections specifically.  This is where the rubber meets the road.  If you enjoy your freedoms, please offer to poll watch, help get out the vote or research candidates.  You can call out office at [phone] and we will fill you in about helping with the 2012 elections.

 

And the last lesson learned from The Great Pumpkin would be…

 

Tea Party Movement vs. Occupy Movement

 

Sally Brown: Do I get to go trick-or-treating this year, big brother?

Charlie Brown: Sure, Sally.

Sally Brown: Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! How do we do it?

Lucy Van Pelt: All you have to do is walk up to a house, ring the doorbell and say "Tricks or treats."

Sally Brown: Are you sure it's legal?

Lucy Van Pelt: Of course it's legal.

Sally Brown: I wouldn't want to be accused of taking part in a rumble.

 

(Lesson Learned:  There is no need to fear the Tea Party Movement.  We are legal, law-abiding citizens who care about protecting the promises given to us by our founding documents.  We simply want smaller government, free market, personal responsibility and moral leadership.  We don’t rumble or do anything illegal.  If you want to rumble, join the Occupy Movement.  For more information about the differences between the Tea Party Movement and the Occupy Movement, read this article posted at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/10/29/occupy_is_no_t...

 

Have a wonderful Great Pumpkin Day tomorrow and we hope The Great Pumpkin appears to you – for Linus’ sake!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JL Gawlik]

Great blog, Billie, great comments all. Funny JSC! Thank you for sharing...

[JSC]

This has NOTHING to do with politics. Just thought we could all use a laugh.

 

http://youtu.be/jkZGg0qNdCc

[Tony Bates]

Thanks Billie - I always enjoy and look forward to your reflections. As I have mentioned to you in the past, it is my wish and hope that some day you will find a means to have what you have been sharing with us to reach more people.   

[Patricia M. McBride]

Great "great pumpkin" write up Billie, and Robert, well put!!

[Robert Douce]

Billie,

 

Spot On!

 

Happy Halloween everyone, but remember:  Some Americans Were Tricked in the 2008 Presidential Elections by "slick talking candidates" and the "lame street media", but take full responsibility and TREAT your self by voting for "REAL" leadership change 2012!