We moved from Vacaville, California to Chico, California in 1994, so I could finish my AA Degrees in Language Arts and Social and Behavioral Science, and transfer to Chico State (aka: CSU-Chico), to get my BA in English. The design was to finish my Degree, do the teaching credential program, and come back to Vacaville. That it didn't work out was not surprising, but the prejudice against Conservative teachers was just beginning. I have a lot I'd like to forget about my experiences in Butte County (mainly Paradise, Chico, and Oroville), but I have some memories that will last a lifetime.
One such memory surrounds a gentleman by the name of Gary Burghoff. Gary is an actor, best known for his portrayal of the character "Walter (Radar) O'Reilly," in M*A*S*H, both in the motion picture, and for more than seven seasons in the TV series. Gary lived (lives) in Magalia, a little town just up the Skyway from Paradise. Magalia is a small place, mostly retirees and people who want to get away from the urbanity of urban life, a few shops, a gas station, but no real retail stores. The closest thing to that was K-Mart in Paradise. Both Mary and Tyffany took jobs there, right after we moved up to Paradise. Tyffany came home one day, and told us about an incident between the aforementioned Mr. Burghoff and a cashier at K-Mart that day. Apparently, the cashier said something like, "You were 'Radar,' right?" At which point Gary kind of lost his temper, because, "No one remembers [him] as Gary, just 'Radar'." Apparently, Gary had long viewed the character as a drag on his acting career, and finding it hard to find acting parts because he played the role.
I used to go up there, every so often, while I was in school, and when I graduated, I became a Department Manager there for Sports, Toys, and Lay-Away. While my employment there is one of the things I'd like to forget, it did give me an opportunity to get to know Gary, a little. He'd come through the store, browsing around, looking at stuff that barely moved during the 15 months I worked there, a couple of times a week. Some of the employees used to think it was to find someone to call him "Radar," so he could vent.
I have never been "star-struck," or in any way am I awed by being in the presence of celebrities. When you've spent as much time with people with real power, actors, musicians, and such just don't seem so imposing. Gary Burghoff is the very definition of unimposing. I made a habit of seeing him, whenever he came into the store, and over a period of several months, we developed a bit of friendship. It got to where he'd come into the store looking for me, to come by and just "chat" for a couple of minutes.
One afternoon, as I was leaving the store, I ran into Gary in the parking lot. We greeted each other and shook hands, and I was moved by the urge to talk to him about his alter-ego, Radar. We had gotten close enough that he didn't "blow up," it helped that that was the first time I'd ever said the name to him. Because of what Tyffany had said, I figured I'd do it his way, and hope that I'd get a chance (and the nerve) to tell him how I felt about Radar. Now that I was making the opportunity happen, it was just really wonderful how it all turned out. I could tell that this wasn't one of Gary's favorite topics, and he tried to avoid it, but I wasn't going to lose an opportunity to say something he needed to hear.
I started by listening to him, and hearing his frustration at not being able to work because he was irreparably tied to the character of Radar. I sympathized, knowing what it's like to be seen as something (or someone) I'm not, and that I hate any system which fails to allow for any growth. That got his attention, so I said, "Let me tell you what 'Radar' means to me."
I told him that when the series started, I thought it was really cool that they brought Gary Burghoff over from the feature film to play the part of "Radar" (he was the only actor so honored), because the character was important to the flow of things. In the midst of all that insanity, a young guy from a small town, held one of the most important jobs, and kept that unit running. As the series developed, "Radar" gained even more importance, but it never really interfered with his home-spun wisdom, nor did it steal his innocence.
When the series came out, I was a young guy from a small town, who held important jobs, and while I didn't keep my unit running, I continually surprised my supervisors with my ability to anticipate questions, and to readily supply the correct answers, just like "Radar". Unfortunately, my experiences robbed me of any innocence I may have retained, but "Radar" was someone I could look up to.
I told him, that 20 years from then, 1998, people would remember "Radar," and probably remember the guy, Gary Burghoff, who played him. No one would remember that I had once been the manager of three departments at K-Mart in Paradise.
After that chat, I think Gary changed. I am happy if I had any part in it.
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