Radar

Request.

I don’t know if you remember the TV Series M*A*S*H*, which ran from 1972 until 1983.  Set in Korea during the Korean Conflict, one of the characters was a Lt. Colonel, who had little idea what was really going on in his unit, another was a Corporal, “Radar”, who kept the wheels on.

Some years back there was a chaplain at Torres, a very good man who, in my opinion, didn’t seem to have a clue what was going on in the Chaplain’s office.  He had a man in white** as an assistant, whom I will refer to in this post and in the post that follows as Radar.

In my mentoring at Torres, I was in and out of the Chaplain’s office, so I got to know Radar pretty well.  Splendid man—friendly, good sense of humor and obviously very capable.

Several years after Radar was assigned to a different job, I received a letter from him asking me whether I would be his mentor.  You could tell it was difficult for him to ask.  He didn’t want to inconvenience me in any way.  He didn’t want me to feel like I had to say yes—we would still be friends if I declined.  I suspect he had learned how to soften a “No”.

What a blessing to be given the privilege to spend quality time with Radar!

*Torres is a Texas state prison located near Hondo, Texas.

**In Texas prisons, all inmates wear white.