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THANKFUL
Thank You 4077!
A heart full of gratitude
Today, for no apparent reason, I thought of Radar O’Reilly, Gary Burgoff’s stand-out character in the TV series M*A*S*H. A quick Google search later I learned that so many of the brilliant cast of that show have since departed this mortal coil. However, I was ever so pleased to find that Gary, Jamie Farr (Max Klinger), Mike Farrell (B.J. Hunnicutt), Alan Alda (“Hawkeye" Pierce) and Loretta Swit (“Hot Lips" Hullihan) remain with us, no doubt living their best lives!
The chance that any of these fine actors would see this note, I admit, is slim to none. However, for whoever sees this, I’d like to share a little bit about what the show meant to me.
I was only a child when M*A*S*H — the TV series — aired. However, I distinctly remember laughing at the hijinks between Hawkeye and Trapper/B.J., loathing Major Burns, crying at the death of Colonel Blake, and being tragically confused at Klinger’s seemingly endless attempts at a section 8 discharge. But to me, the most inspiring character was none other than Radar. Here was a character who effortlessly combined small town charm with a refined sense of extrasensory perception. Radar could be an unassuming small-town kid one second and instantly transform into a born leader the next by uttering one word: “Choppers!"
To the cast, directors, writers, muses, and everyone else, I’m sure you know that you did a fine job bringing your characters into our homes. Awards were won. Stars were given on the Walk of Fame. Your characters live on in film and in the minds of your viewers. But that’s not why M*A*S*H was so special to me.
Instead, M*A*S*H gave me countless hours with my dad that I probably would have missed without it.
My father became a paraplegic a few years before I was adopted, and I think this might have led him into the most insane work ethic I’ve ever known. He would go to work in the early morning, come home at night, slam a few bites of dinner and then retreat to the garage to work for several more hours. Today we call that a “workaholic”, but as a kid it was just dad.
When we were younger, mom would keep my sisters and me in the house while dad did his dad things in the garage. In retrospect she probably knew he…
