A great strip seems to have passed its prime by now; many of the strips by now seem almost mailed in. But Schulz is still capable of the home run; they just don't come as regularly. There's a pretty intriguing storyline in which Linus gets a crush on a new girl, with Sally of course not responding well. But my favorite is the continuing competition between Marcie and Peppermint Patty for the affections of the ever-clueless Charlie Brown.

You gotta root for Peppermint Patty. Bottom of pg. 247 has her on the phone with "Chuck":

"So I don't have a tutor anymore, Chuck... Do you think I'm dumb, Chuck?"

"No, not at all... Actually, I think you're very smart..."

"That's nice, Chuck... That's really nice... That's sweet and really nice...

"Sometimes I wish I couldn't strike you out on three straight pitches..." ( )