By Jen Chaney
The Washington Post, Dec. 5, 2011
If you know your Peanuts history, you know that within the context of the comic strip, Shermy was once a semi-significant character. In the earliest days of Charles M. Schulz’s creation, back when the characters were shorter, squatter versions of themselves, Shermy was part of a much smaller ensemble.
Then that ensemble grew and Shermy's role shrank. In 1969, he was tossed out of the strip entirely because Schulz said he was only including the nondescript boy when he "needed a character with very little personality." When the man whose childhood existence inspired Charlie Brown calls you boring, that's the ultimate achievement in the field of dullness.
But somehow — despite the fact that, if asked to identify him, most people will scratch their heads and guess “Is that Taller Linus?” — Shermy managed to make it into the most enduring of all the Peanuts TV specials, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” And I would argue that he not only belongs there but is crucial to the proceedings. Or at least sort of crucial.
His dance moves may be limited to Zombie Walk, but that demonstrates a prescience on his part. Shermy was dancing like an extra from "The Walking Dead" decades before that show was even on the air. The kid is a true pioneer.
When assigned a role in the Christmas play, Shermy winds up playing the shepherd. "Every Christmas, it's the same," he says in the only line he gets during the entire show. "I always end up playing a shepherd." He always ends up playing a shepherd because he's so nondescript. But you know what? Shermy owns that.
In short, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” needs Shermy — nay, we all need Shermy — to remind us that everyone, even the nondescript perpetual shepherds, can make a difference. Because that’s what Christmas is all about, Taller Linus.
Ed. Note — "...a faithful #shepherd." [As You Like It: V, ii]
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