| The Red Yarn By Kling |
| What is with the yarn? BJ and Hawkeye were often winding red yarn. In fact, there were probably about ten episodes with the red yarn. The problem was, you never saw them do anything with the yarn. What ever happened to the red yarn? This yarn could have been given to Margaret for her knitting. All throughout “A War For All Seasons,” Margaret was knitting. This purpose, however, was doubtful, because Margaret didn’t knit often. Also, BJ and Hawkeye didn’t always get along with Margaret . The yarn could have just been something for the surgeons to occupy their hands with. A lot of people like to have something to do with their hands. Winding yarn could have been something that seemed useful for Hawkeye and BJ to be doing. The yarn could have been sent home. Maybe Hawkeye’s father or Peg used yarn. Yarn could be given to others around Crabapple Cove, where neighbors always stuck together. Maybe Mr. Pierce needed a sweater, so he was knitting himself one, or giving yarn to someone to knit one for him. BJ and Hawkeye, always drinking and playing poker, probably needed some money. They might have sold yarn to locals. They could have been paid to make balls of yarn for someone. This is also unlikely, I don’t know who would pay for yarn. Yarn could have been a symbol put in by writers of the show. It was kind of a break in the monotony of army green. It could show that no matter how depressed everyone got, there was always a little bit of happiness somewhere. The most likely reason the red yarn appeared was because of boredom. Hawkeye and BJ probably just got so bored, they started to make balls of yarn. If there was nothing at all to do, it makes sense that people would just do whatever they could to stay sane. Winding yarn was something that took some concentration, but no real brain power. You could talk or think about other things while you occupied your hands. This was probably, but not certainly, the use for the yarn. So what was the red yarn used for? This question had plagued M*A*S*H watchers for years, and probably will continue to boggle the minds of people who think too much and are too observant. Red yarn is the sort of thing you wonder about forever or just accept. Take my advice: wonder! Sydney Freedman is a great guy to talk to! |
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