Sunday, December 13, 2015

Life After M*A*S*H -- Part 2




Last week I pondered about what life after M*A*S*H would look like for the characters in my favorite TV show.  I fleshed out a profile for the show’s star, Hawkeye Pierce.  Today, I will take on Hawkeye’s best friends: first Trapper John and then BJ Hunnicutt.

Captain “Trapper” John McIntyre was Hawkeye’s partner in crime, always at the ready with a snarky comment and a practical joke.  Despite the fact that Trapper was married and had a family, he was quite the womanizer at the 4077th M*A*S*H unit.  Trapper never met a nurse that he did not hit on. After the war, Trapper John returned home to his family in Boston and his career as a thoracic surgeon.  However, he continued his philandering habit which cost him two marriages and now he is on his third. Trapper had additional kids from his 2nd wife for a total of five kids.  Once he retired, he became a serious amateur golfer.  Since he bolted out of the M*A*S*H unit as soon as he got his release papers, he never got to say goodbye to Hawkeye.  He always felt badly about that and still feels guilty as he heads to the dedication ceremony.

Captain BJ Hunnicutt immediately replaced Trapper as Hawkeye’s sidekick at the 4077th.  He, too, loved to play practical jokes and often took them to another level wherein he would have multiple jokes going on at the same time.  Nonetheless, he was very much a family man to his wife Peg and daughter Erin back in California. At the end of the war, he rode off into the sunset on a motorcycle leaving a giant sign for Hawkeye that says “Goodbye”. Once he returned to the states, he reveled in his home life and had four more children for a total of five.  BJ loved his big family but did miss his old Army buddies.  Over time, he hunted down and kept in touch with a few of them, especially Radar who had actually met BJ’s family on his way back to Ottumna, Iowa. BJ is very much looking forward to the dedication ceremony and is curious to know if he will get to meet Trapper there.

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