Aha Moment: ‘Peanuts’ in Panama
Victoria de Puy and Geraldine de Puy at the Charles Schulz Museum.
Victoria de Puy was a teenager when her friend gave her a book of “Peanuts” comics. She fell in love with the series immediately.
Her daughter Geraldine got indoctrinated early: as soon as she was born, Victoria surrounded her with “Peanuts” memorabilia, lunchboxes, t-shirts and pajamas. There’s some debate between the two as to what Geraldine’s first words were — either “Snoopy” or “agua.”
Then the family moved from Panama City to London. Feeling isolated in a new country, Victoria and Geraldine bonded more closely over “Peanuts.” They saw the friendship between Snoopy and Woodstock as a reflection of their own. Their relationship “transcends that of mother and daughter,” Geraldine says. “It really becomes one of companion, and I think Snoopy and Woodstock are those companions to each other.”
(Originally aired November 2, 2007)
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!