A Charlie Brown Religion by Lind Stephen J

Author:Lind, Stephen J.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Published: 2015-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

7

SHORE TO SHORE

“Little things that we say and do in Christ’s name are like pebbles thrown in the water. The ripples spread out in circles, and influence people we may know only slightly and sometimes not at all.”

—CHARLES M. SCHULZ

WITH HANDS RAISED OFF THE TABLE AND EYES SQUINTED IN DELIGHT, President Reagan reeled back in laughter at the words of Queen Elizabeth II. Deadpan, she had made the most simple of jokes—one about the weather—to the gleeful amusement of the president and their shared guests. “I knew before we came that we had exported many of our traditions to the United States,” the queen said. “But I had not realized before that weather was one of them.”1 The weather had been unseasonably stormy during the queen and Prince Philip’s visit to California, a week-long stop during her world tour on her royal yacht Britannia, then the largest ship of its kind in the world, but that did not turn away the jubilant crowd from enjoying a dinner hosted by the Reagans in honor of the visiting English royalty.

The dinner was held at the De Young Art Museum in San Francisco on March 3, 1983. It was one of the last official events the queen and Prince Phillip would enjoy before retreating to a relaxing stay in snowy Yosemite National Park. Though many points in the histories of the two nations were surely solemn, evidenced by the 7,000 protesters demonstrating outside the museum in Golden Gate Park, the event inside was a joyous one. It was a “glittering affair,” remarked dinner guest and economist Milton Friedman, “attended by the leading citizens of California and many from the rest of the country.”2 Among those leading Californians were Sparky and Jeannie, attending at the request of the Reagans. Making their way through the reception line to greet the Reagans, Prince Philip, and the queen, a line which Sparky noted “moved so fast we did not feel that we had the time to express any kind of pleasantries,” Jeannie and Sparky abided by the directive to not touch the queen and to be sure that the women curtsied. The president and Sparky greeted each other warmly, and Sparky and the queen shared formal acknowledgments, though she did not recognize the prolific cartoonist. When Sparky had gone a few steps further, the president leaned in and whispered to the queen, “that’s the man who draws Snoopy!” With her iconic English vocal drawl, the queen piqued, “Oh reeaally,” and Jeannie and Sparky took their seats for dinner.

The two took delight in their evening mixing with the elite crowd, full of industry magnates, political leaders, and cultural movers, though the bustle of such a gathering of distinguished strangers could be difficult to navigate, even awkward at times. While they had been waiting, Sparky had spotted from across the room the familiar face of a man whose work he had thoroughly respected. Making his way through the sea of people, Sparky took the opportunity to greet none other than the Reverend Billy Graham.

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