Smith: That Charlie was named for ours

We can only imagine the horror with which the late Charles Schulz would have received news Wednesday of the massacre of cartoonists and other staffers at a satirical newspaper in France.

There’s no telling what Schulz, who drew “Peanuts” in Sonoma County for more than 40 years, knew of the publication, Charlie Hebdo, or Charlie Weekly. He may well have been aware that it drew its name from a French comics magazine, Charlie Mensuel, or Charlie Monthly.

The “Charlie” in those publications’ titles paid homage to Schulz’s Charlie Brown. The tribute was rooted in the respect that “Peanuts” has long enjoyed in France and Italy, where the art of the cartoon is far more sophisticated and appreciated than in America.

One of the prominent cartoonists murdered Wednesday was Georges Wolinksi, 80. In 2000, following the death of Schulz in Santa Rosa, Wolinksi told a French newspaper why Charlie Brown inspired the satirists at Charlie Hebdo:

“Ultimately, ‘Peanuts’ shows that living and existing are two different things. The mediocrity of our existence is unbearable. That’s what ‘Peanuts’ is about. It would be a good thing to revive that kind of existential comic.”

Clearly, this man took the power of cartoons seriously. He died for it.

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A HUI HOU, STEFIE: Health challenges from birth were something 23-year-old Stephanie Douglass learned to live with and smile through.

The Santa Rosan endured a liver transplant in 2012. As she struggled recently her folks decided it was time for a tropical end-of-year family getaway.

In Hawaii, Stefie swam with sea turtles and soaked up the rays. But late last week she felt so poorly that her parents took her to a hospital in Honolulu.

When she went into intensive care, her family canceled the return flight and made an appeal on gofundme.com for help covering expenses. Donors quickly kicked in more than $12,000.

Sunday afternoon, Stefie died. Her parents, Nieves and Chris, and sister Emily are crushed but also grateful for the joy of her final days in paradise and for the outpouring.

They’re home now, planning a celebration of the short life of a sweet spirit.

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THIS ONE HORSE refused to go into a trailer. Two others, also wild mustangs, allowed themselves to be herded into the trailer and are presumed to have been turned into meat in Mexico.

Near Sebastopol, Susan Hornstein and the helpers at her horse-rescue and riding ranch have named the survivor Lucky One. Their first mission for 2015 is to raise the money necessary to train, treat and keep the horse until it’s ready to be adopted to a good home.

Visit welltrainedhorses.com and you’ll see that they’ve devised clever ways for horse lovers to help complete the saving of this Lucky One.

Chris Smith is at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @CJSPD