Walter "Radar" O'Reilly watched as the cows ambled out of the barn for the day. With his cousin Jimmy coming back from the city with a brand new wife, Eileen, and the the guys back in Korea sending a farmer named Seong-Su (Sung Sue) Lee to help him out, the family farm was able to get back on track to compete with the larger government farms. It had been a lean year but they pulled through, sure enough.
A couple of months ago his brother Lyall and his wife Dorothy came back to the farm saying they were done with the big city and just wanted to raise any children in the "simple life".
Just two short weeks ago Seong-Su married a refugee from Korea. Jeong-hui (Jong hwee) was a seamstress who took shorn wool or other fibers and turn it into dazzling garments.
It seemed like now everyone had a role on the farm but him. Seong-Su and Lyall tended the crops, Jimmy cared for the animals with his wife Eileen, and Dorothy was a master in the kitchen. She made cute butters, speciality soaps and candles, baked pies and pastries for market day, and even canned! Her prize winning pickles, jams, and jellies were highly sought after.
The farm that Walter had left the Army for was beginning to feel very small again. It felt like there was no place for him with all the people here to tend it. He found himself daydreaming more and more, as the chores required less of his attention. As he milked the cows, Walter wondered how Klinger was doing as the company clerk. Had he given up dresses yet? When feeding the chickens his thoughts turned to the shenanigans Hawkeye and BJ were apt to be up to. They could pull some crazy pranks! Once, when fixing a fence, he even wondered about Margaret and her paramours! Wasn't that wild?
As the time passed Walter went through the motions of his life, looking forward only to the letters of his friends overseas. Lately though, he began to notice something odd about his family. When he was taking a break from weeding the crops Walter looked up to find Lyall and Dorothy on the back porch watching him. He raised his arm and waved at them as he drank his water. They jumped apart like a couple of startled rabbits. Lyall tripped coming down the stairs off the porch and Dorothy bounced off the doorframe as she tried to escape into the house! How strange they were acting. He shrugged it off and went back to his work.
The next morning after he had gathered up all the eggs, Walter stopped in the yard to stretch in the beautiful morning sun. From the corner of his eye he saw Seong-Su and Jeong-hui staring at him as they talked. He raised his hands above his head and stretched side to side as he slowly turned in a circle. The yard was deserted. There were no animals, other people, or anything else they could possibly be looking at. They had to be looking at him. Walter smiled wide and waved energetically at the man he had come to consider a brother and the man's wife. Like Lyall and Dorothy the day before, the couple jumped and rushed away as though he had caught them doing something naughty.
Shaking his head, Walter returned to his chores. Something always needed doing on a farm.
Later in the day, as he made his way to the barn to milk the cows one last time for the night, he saw Jimmy and Eileen through a crack in the office door at the back of the barn.
As he gathered the stools and other milking bric a brac, Walter heard Eileen say his name and slowed down to listen. "- to Walter. It needs to be done tonight. He needs to leave, Jimmy." Taken back by what he heard, he was the one to startle when the door opened wide and his cousin came out to call the cows home.
Walter worked thoroughly, efficiently, and methodically through the milking. Apparently, his family didn't want him on the farm and they were all in on it. He tried desperately to find a reason they wanted him off his own farm. Just because he didn't connect with the women they kept pushing on him didn't mean he was lonely!
Walter, Jimmy, and Eileen finished bedding down the cows for the night and returned to the house for a late supper. As he washed his hands in the big kitchen sink, Walter watched the looks and glances the couples traded when they thought he wasn't paying attention. Did they think they were being subtle? That Walter couldn't see him? Tense silence filled the air as plates were filled and dishes passed. No one would meet his eyes. Something was going on and his infamous "Radar" had failed to warn him.
As he split a roll and began to butter it, Eileen rammed her elbow into her husband Jimmy's side. Jimmy sighed heavily and picked up his water glass to wet his decidedly parched throat. This wasn't going to be easy. Eileen made a noise of frustration and rammed her elbow into Jimmy's side again, causing him to splutter. Wiping his hands on his napkin as he gathered himself, Jimmy leaned forward."So I hear you got another letter from Korea today?" He asked.
"Mhumm! Yeah! From the gang at the 4077th!" Walter replied, smiling slightly. "I haven't read it yet, but it's good to know that they haven't forgotten about some dumb kid from Iowa when they are over there saving lives and junk."
"Hey now!" Lyall interjected. "My little brother ain't no dumb kid! He's the best kind of guy you could ever want!"
Walter felt shocked. "Then how come youse guys been acting all funny like lately!? And how come today in the barn Eileen told Jimmy to tell me I had to get gone!? Huh!?"
Everyone at the table traded guilty looks.
"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Dorothy exclaimed. "You aren't happy here anymore, Walter! You went and enlisted in the Army a boy with a bear and came home a man with adventure in his heart!" She stood up and walked around to Walter's chair. She pulled it out and around, then knelt in front of him so their eyeline met more equally. She gently laid her hand on his cheek. "Since you left Sandy on your wedding day when you found out she slept with your best man - which none of us blame you for by the way, we would have done the same. She was no good for you. Anyways, you haven't been interested in girls. You spend more time writing your old Army pals and reading adventure comics than you have in town meeting real people. Oh, I know you think it's the same old people every time. The point is we want the best for you and that means leaving the farm." She gracefully rose to her feet, pulling him along with him. "Let's take a minute here to calm down and we'll talk about it over dessert and coffee in the living room, all right?"
Once they were all settled in, Seong-Su cleared his throat nervously began to speak. "When we were in Korea you were a force of nature and when you left, there was a hole. When Hawkeye and BJ said you needed a farmer to help with the crops I wanted it to be me more than anything. A lot of us did but they had all started making new lives there and I just couldn't. So when they picked me to come to America I was filled with joy. Not because I would be away from the bombs, and the shelling, and all the death. I was going to be with number one GI, Radar O'Reilly. Here on the farm you are at one with nature. Most people in my country work their whole lives to find that kind of zen, centered headspace. It would be a dream come true. But for the Radar O'Reilly I know, it is a stagnant death sentence. You need chaos and disorder to tame and people to corral. We see that very seldom here on the farm. Go and grow, Radar. We will be here when you get back."
With his piece said Seong-Su wilted back and sipped at his tea as though he had not just changed Walter's world view. He didn't quite know how to feel. He was a bit hurt that they all wanted him to leave the farm. He was very relieved that they were going to allow him to leave. He was very thankful that they saw he needed more and loved him enough to let him go.
Eileen made a noise to get Walter's attention. "We aren't saying you need to leave now. We aren't saying you can't make a plan. All we are saying is you brought this farm back from the brink of disaster and made a home for all us here. You did it because it was your duty, not because it was where your heart lay. You were able to snatch this farm from the jaws of bankruptcy and turn it into a sustainable farm when folks around here are losing theirs to big banks and the government. Not only did you do what no one else thought was possible, you did it in less than two years. It was a miracle and you are the miracle man. We have a plan and means to do it thanks to you. Walter. Our very own Miracle Man!"
Lyall scooted forward on the loveseat, drawing Walter's attention next. "All those letters you wrote about growing up on the farm and how it made you able to handle running that hospital in Korea and then how that made you able to run the farm when you came home were amazing, Walter. I know you took that writing course by mail while you were there and you could tell. All of your letters about your plans and how the farm had possibilities and potential made me realize I was running away from something beautiful. I left for the city thinking there was nothing for me here. That I had learned everything I possibly could from the farm. Letters from you changed that. For me and Jimmy. Eileen and Dorothy fell in over with the farm from your letters and the way you talked about life here. Jimmy and I thought with all the people losing their farms, it was crazy to move back. Then we talked to a guy from one of those government farms looking to buy up all the foreclosures. He said your plans would keep the farm going for generations. Suddenly the farm wasn't a black hole, bad bet, total loss. It was the legacy our family was always meant to have. You saved the farm with your plans and our family with your letters. You are one amazing fella, Walter, and I am proud to be your kin."
Jimmy had said nothing but Walter was a bit worried about his head falling off because all the nodding he was doing. He was overwhelmed by how they thought of him. Not as some dumb kid, but as a man who had things well in hand. It was a good feeling.
"Walter," Dorothy called softly. "This is your home and that will never change. We will all be here for you no matter what. We just think you need to take some time and figure out what you want for Walter. No more duty or putting others first. You are only being held back here and you deserve so much more."
Quietly Jeong-hui moved closer to Walter on the couch. "I know I haven't been on the farm long, but I do know how scary it is to leave everything you have ever known to start over. But I also know how happy it can make you. I thought all my family was gone forever, but when Seong-Su introduced me to you he called you brother. I thought he was crazy. You changed my mind when you made sure that all our traditions were met in our wedding. You even learned what to do to stand in my Father's place that day. You made a foreign land home. I think you can do anything you set your mind to. You are a great man Walter O'Reilly and I am proud to call you family."
Blushing, Walter tried to wave off her praise claiming anyone would have done it. Jimmy stood, seeking to help Walter feel less embarrassed and put on the spot.
"I know a lot has been said here tonight Walter and I want you to know that we all love you. We all see what you have done for this family and it is time the family did something for you. Take some time, sleep on it. Figure out what dreams you want to make reality, because if anyone can, it's you."
With that said the couples trickled out, gathering cups and plates, leaving Walter to his thoughts. As the night wore on Walter decided that the happiest he had ever been and the most useful he had ever been were the same. He missed being with the 4077th the most and wanted to get that sense of right and of belonging back. He wasn't sure where to start, but he knew one thing for certain; sleeping on it was a very good idea indeed.
