Don't own MASH, I want to, but I don't – so there you have it.
I never claimed to be a genius when it comes to politics, names or any other trivial matter that may arise.
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KLINGER HOME, TOLEDO, OHIO: MARCH 21, 1970.
Klinger, Soon-Lee and his business manager met to discuss the opening of three new restaurants.
Since opening in Toledo in 1954, Chez Klinger had become the number one place in town, everybody came – singers, celebrities, politicians and congressmen, even LBJ was rumored to have driven by.
There were plans to open in London, Dallas, LA and New York.
"This is very exciting" said Soon-Lee "we will become famous!!"
Klinger smiled, "maybe"
Denton Richards, Klinger's smooth talking business man / attorney smiled "yes. It's very exciting; just remember my fee is 30%"
Max looked at him "we agreed ten percent"
"yeah" said Richards "you're good"
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MCINTYRE HOME, BOSTON, MASS: MAY 8, 1970.
The McIntyre family was sitting in the den watching President Nixon on TV; he was denying the existence of US forces in Laos.
Becky was expected by later with her family and Kathy was completing her master's degree in Ohio.
John and Louise only had one kid left at home; Jim was 17 and thinking of enlisting in the Marine Corps.
The thought horrified Trap, who thought that anyone who wanted to join the military was certifiably nutty.
Life seemed pretty mundane for the McIntyre family.
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PIERCE HOME, CRABAPPLE COVE, MAINE: MAY 10, 1970.
Hawkeye had just left for work; Daniel was doing his weekly surgical appointments in Portland.
Margaret was having the day off; both the kids were at school. She made some breakfast and sat down to watch TV.
Instead of the morning TV soaps and infomercials, she saw tear gas, bullets and blood. The newscaster told the story of how protesters at Kent Sate University had clashed with the police and National Guard.
It resembled the scenes at Watts and Birmingham, Margaret was shocked. She remembered that Becky McIntyre mentioned that she was going to Kent State to complete her Masters degree.
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MCINTYRE HOME, BOSTON, MASS: MAY 10, 1970.
"JOHN!" screamed Louise, her eyes glued to the TV.
Trap came in from the bathroom, razor still in hand and face covered in shaving cream, "what?" he asked.
Without saying a word, he looked at the TV. Trapper stood and watched as the National Guard quelled the protesters with batons and teargas. They fired into the crowd and everyone was running.
"Oh God, I hope Becky is all right" said Louise, sitting on the edge of the couch crying.
The kitchen phone rang, John sprung up to answer it.
"It's Becky" he said, Louise came into the kitchen to see if her daughter was alright.
"What? How is she, is she hurt?" she asked, anxious,
John handed her the phone, "Here, it's your mother".
"Becky! How are you?" she asked.
"I'm fine, I didn't have any classes today" she said.
Twice the McIntyre children had avoided injury; they considered themselves lucky and the tranquility of the sunshine of that day was forever shattered in the minds of those who were there.
'Cause the players tried to take the field but the marching band refused to yield.
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UNIVERSITY OF MAINE, PORTLAND, MAINE: FALL , 1972.
"Are you sure we're making the right decision?" asked Margaret as she and Hawkeye walked down the long stone walkways of the U of M.
"Yes" said Hawkeye, taking her hand "I'm sure that we have"
The Pierce house was now emptier; Ben was entering his first undergrad year with plans to go to medical school. Daniel concluded that it ran in the family).
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O'REILLY FARM, OTTUMWA, IOWA: JULY 27, 1973.
It had been twenty long, eventful years since the armistice ending the Korean Police Action had been put into effect. The unit that was the 4077 Mobile Army Surgical Hospital had bugged out long ago; everyone now had lives a world away from the band aid and bailing wire outfit they had once known.
The unit had once again gathered the farm of Radar O'Reilly for the annual celebration of Armistice Day.
Hawkeye had married Margaret and had two kids, Trapper done a 180 and became a dedicated family man with three children. Charles' blue blood now occupied Capitol Hill rather than Beacon Hill whilst BJ had become Chief of General Surgery at Mill Valley General. Max and Soon-Lee had a successful chain of restaurants across the United States whilst from everyone had heard, Frank Burns was still locked up in the nut house.
It was good to see that life changes, sometime for good, sometime for bad, or sometimes just not at all.
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PIERCE HOME, CRABAPPLE COVE, MAINE: SEPTEMBER 5, 1973.
"Twenty years" said Margaret, as she and Hawkeye sat on the bed.
"Yes, it's amazing, we were so young and now we have the house pretty much all to ourselves, Jane is off to college in a few months and we will be all alone in this big old house"
Margaret glared at him "Ben! I feel old now"
Hawkeye laughed, "Don't" he said, pulling her over to him "We still have each other and the kids will come home for the holidays and with any luck we'll be grandparents soon!"
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ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, WASHINGTON, DC: NOVEMBER 22, 1973.
Not too far from the eternal flame, where one large group gathered to remember to remember the day in Dallas, another group gathered to remember a fallen idol.
It had been ten years since Col. Potter had passed; a large void was forever created in the minds of those that knew him, one that could never be filled.
Everyone: Trapper, BJ, Hawkeye and Margaret along with Klinger, Soon-Lee and Radar gathered around the bronze plaque promoting that Sherm lay below. It was a sacred moment in the 4077th's history.
Charles surrounded by Secret Service goons, stood towards the rear of the group; still a litter resentful at the man that had shanghaied him into the quagmire that was the 4077th.
Everyone paused and they knew that someday, the inevitable moment would come for all of them.
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HUNNICUTT HOME, MILL VALLEY, CALIF.: FEBRUARY 4, 1974.
A few members of the 4077th: Hawkeye, Margaret and Charles along with their families gathered at the home of the Hunnicutt to celebrate BJ's 50th birthday.
Most sat on the porch and talked, the birds had flown off from the fallout shelter and they were now eight miles high and falling fast.
They all agreed they were over half-way in their lives, all the kids had left home, hopefully BJ and Hawkeye would be grandparents soon, BJ told Hawkeye how Erin had been seeing a friend from college.
Margaret entertained Peg with some similar stories about Ben and Jane as they both worked on lunch.
"Whew" said BJ "I've been alive for a half-century!"
Hawkeye smiled, "yes".
"And in that time, what things we have seen" agreed Charles, he'd fobbed off the customary protection and would spent the rest of the day relaxing.
Margaret smiled "yeah, and there are plenty more things to see".
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CRABAPPLE COVE, MAINE: APRIL 3, 1974.
Hawkeye was on his way to work, he looked out the window and marveled at the size the Cove had grown to in the 20 years since he returned from Korea.
One thing bothered him; the city had never given thought to building a hospital that was closer than either Spruce Harbor or Portland. He knew the local fire department had paramedics but it was still 20 minutes to Spruce Harbor.
The civilian world hadn't caught up with what the MASH units had done by sending choppers to evac the wounded from an aid station, despite that fact it was 24 years later.
No bother, concluded Hawkeye, nothing bad ever really happened round here.
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FIRE DEPARTMENT, CRABAPPLE COVE, MAINE: APRIL 11, 1974.
It was almost midnight and raining hard– nothing great was happening for those manning the fire department that night, the fire trucks and ambulances sat quiet in the vehicle bay.
Meanwhile, a Bell Atlantic operator took a 911 call from a highway phone box and hurriedly looked up the location of the nearest fire station, it was Crabapple Cove.
A long ringing sounded and stirred the firefighters out of bed; the lights in the stationhouse came on and temporarily blinded everyone.
Within a few seconds, bed attire was replaced by heavy turnout gear and the skilled firefighters and paramedics of the Crabapple Cove FD clambered aboard their respective rescue vehicles.
Shattering the night silence were the sounds of sirens and the rumble of tires as the fire department roared off into the darkness.
Not a great deal was known about the call, except that someone called from a phone box along the highway to report that a car had hit a power pole.
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PORTLAND MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, PORTLAND, MAINE: APRIL 12, 1974.
An ambulance screeched round to the emergency entrance, it was just after midnight, and the bright red letters spelling "AMBULANCES ONLY" illuminated the occupants. The siren died as the back doors opened.
On the gurney was Jane Pierce; IV lines, cords and tubes sticking out of here, Hawkeye along with Margaret followed close behind in the squad car that shadowed the ambulance.
The bright lights of the emergency room came into view as paramedics handed off the stretcher to the doctors waiting inside the ambulance bay. Hawkeye spoke briefly with one of the doctors as Margaret ran along side.
"Sir, you'll have to stay out here" said the charge nurse as she pulled the curtain to the trauma room.
"I'm not sir, I'm a doctor, I've been a doctor for nearly thirty years and my wife is a nurse" protested Hawkeye.
The nurse looked at Hawkeye, then Margaret and thought for a second "I'll have to call the supervisor" she said.
One of the trauma surgeons looked at her "shut up" he barked "let them in"
Hawkeye and Margaret proceeded into the trauma room, looking at their daughter on the table, bloodied and bruised; it instilled the fear of God into them.
Up on the fifth floor, Margaret and Hawkeye sat around Jane's bed. She had come out of surgery and Ben had called to say he was coming straight to the hospital.
From what they had heard, the car carrying Jane Pierce, Becky McIntyre and two friends had spun into a power pole. It was the first day of semester break and it had begun in tragedy.
The doctor told Hawkeye that the injuries of those were not serious, just broken ribs, some whiplash and some minor head injuries. That didn't make any difference to Hawkeye, Margaret or Trapper and Louise who all waited at their kid's bedside.
Once again, the 4077th had been struck a terrible blow.
PIERCE HOME, CRABAPPLE COVE, MAINE: CHRISTMAS, '76
Everyone had once again gathered at the Pierce home. It was Christmas and the annual tradition was in full swing, the house was lovingly decorated, the fire burned brightly and the smell of food from the kitchen made everyone hungrier than before.
Most of the 4077th, with the exclusion of Radar had celebrated their 50th birthday and were looking forward to many more happy years. Hawkeye and Margaret along with BJ and Peg were expectant Grandparents.
Radar had finished studying to become a veterinarian and was planning to open a practice in Ottumwa, Charles was serving his second term a US Senator and from what everyone heard, Frank was still locked up in the loopy bin.
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MARINE CORPS TRAINING DEPORT, PARIS IS., S.C.: AUGUST 23, 1977.
It was graduation day for Marine Corps boot camp number 08/77. Fifty young newly appointed Privates stood watching as the rows of family, relatives and friends applauded.
"James Henry McIntyre, Private First Class, # 2255101" thundered a very rough looking MastGySgt (Master Gunnery Sergeant) as he stood at the dais.
Jim McIntyre, dressed in his navy and white Marine Corps uniform stepped forward to be awarded the USMC emblem and the became a member of "The few, the proud", Semper Fidelis.
Trap looked on in a mix of joy and horror. The war in Vietnam had finished a few years before, and what if something similar came up? He hated the thought that a kid of his would enlist in the military, which he saw absolutely no sanity in doing.
On the other hand he was happy that his son found something he loved.
His son was to become a corpsman (the USMC don't have 'medics') and continue his pacifistic ways, Jim thought to highly of himself to be a rifleman.
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LOS ANGELES GENERAL, LOS ANGELES, CA: DECEMBER 12. 1977.
LAFD Paramedics burnt rubber round the corner and up to the main gate of the hospital, the ambulance spun round to the emergency entrance where a gurney team stood waiting.
Erin Hunnicutt was on the gurney, very in labor. Her parents sat beside her and waited as the paramedics pulled out the stretcher and raced inside.
The gurney was pushed into the nearest elevator and taken up to maternity.
"Daddy, I'm scared" said Erin, gripping BJ's hand fiercely.
"Sssssh, it's ok, I've done this a thousand times, everything's fine" he reassured his daughter.
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OFFICE OF ALAN SKINNER, M.D., WASHINGTON, DC: DECEMBER 12, 1977
Sen. Charles Emmerson Winchester sat in the waiting room of his doctor's office, why, he concluded, couldn't he be his own doctor, after all was one.
He grimaced, something was really gnawing at him lately, but no doubt his doctor would sort it out. Charles thought of everything he could have and was unable to find the answer.
"Winchester?" asked the nurse "are you in excruciating pain or are you just being yourself?
Charles grumbled out something.
"Well OK then" said the nurse
As he sat there, Charles started to feel funny, suddenly his eyes began to drift out of focus, he turned limp and slumped out of his seat and onto the floor.
"Oh my God, what's wrong?" screamed someone as one of the doctors stepped out of his office with a patient. He saw what had happened and rushed over.
"I'll call 911" said one of the nurses as she dashed back to the front desk.
The doctor rolled Charles over, his eyes had sunk into his head and his tongue fell out his mouth. He flashed a penlight into Charles' eyes and checked for a heartbeat.
Within a few minutes, the paramedics arrived and Charles was on his way to Walter Reed