#MASH history

[radarsmenagerie]

One of hundreds of letters sent to CBS after “Abyssinia Henry” aired 50 years ago today on March 18th, 1975. Many of them were from young children.

Last summer I started working on a project with these letters where I tracked down and spoke to many of the children who wrote them (now in their 60s). The project is on hold until I finish this school year, but I leaving cryptic messages on the answering machines of America's boomers resulted in some of the best conversations I've ever had. I'll keep you updated. I chose to share this image as the letter writer is anonymous.

Photo by me, “Letters from viewers regarding the death of Henry Blake.” Box 22, Folders 4. M*A*S*H Television Show Collection, 1950-1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. https://sova.si.edu/record/nmah.ac.0117/ref359?s=0&n=10&t=C&q=NMAH.AC.0117&i=0

Edit: follow @dearmash1975project for updates

[dearmash1975project]

It was fitting that Brian was the first person I spoke to for this. It was his letter, after all, and the age written on it (age 11), that touched me so deeply that it sparked this whole project. I’ll keep my methods on how I tracked him down close to the vest, so as not to illustrate how easy it is to find anyone in this digital age; needless to say– getting an email back that read “Dear Lily, Yes I did!” was thrilling. We scheduled to speak on the phone and did on July 15th, 2024.

{Interview continued under the cut}

Brian Nores was no longer 11 when we spoke on the phone. Between the passage of time and the life that fills the mind since age 11, he didn’t remember writing the letter until my email.

An email, he told me, that his partner advised him not to answer as it was “probably a scam.” Thankfully for me, Brian is “always getting himself into trouble” and answered my inquiry about a letter he may or may not have sent while living at X address in 1975. In hindsight, his partner was definitely right for being wary.

Brian credited his late father for the letter’s existence and described memories flooding back after reading the words he wrote nearly 50 years earlier. Not long before he wrote the M*A*S*H letter, Brian was a boy scout who wanted to quit. His father instructed him that he could quit, but he had to write a letter to the scout master explaining why he wanted to leave the troop. His dad ‘never let him off the hook for that,’ and it was likely this instillation of values that gave Brian the confidence to speak his mind after the fateful episode aired. [In a fascinating ending to the boy scout anecdote– Brian, who still lives in the area, was at the local frame shop years later where the owner recognized his name and produced the letter, which the scout master was having framed.]

When I asked if he remembered the episode he responded how anyone who has seen it would; he remembered it very well. He recalled being “disturbed” and “shocked” by it. In a world before spoiler alerts, he explained, “the whole world saw that episode and reacted in real time.” As an 11-year-old, but also as an American youth raised on American narratives of war, he remembered expecting Henry to “go off into the sunset” and be okay.

“For me, M*A*S*H ended after that episode.”

Brian watched occasionally after season 3 but had no idea the series continued for as long as it did (M*A*S*H aired from 1972-1983). “It was never the same, certainly.”

Brian was in 5th grade in 1975, and at his young age he had never seen something on TV that disturbing. He told me he reached out to an old friend to discuss the letter, and they reminisced about their lives at that time. “Age of innocence” was the term he used with me. At that point in his life, he had never lost any relatives or experienced any hardships. “The most shocking thing that I had experienced prior to that was a large earthquake in ’71.” For Brian, this episode marked one of the first experiences he had had with death.

It's an extraordinary level of influence to have, that the simple ‘writing off’ of a character can have such an impact on a young life. We often characterize television as a sort of hobby, one that has less of a cachet than movies; but the mechanism by which media compels our emotions is the same.

Brian reflected more on this impact when telling me that The Mary Tyler Moore Show was his favorite series, and he recalled crying at the finale in 1977. He remembered thinking “How could they end this?”

To Brian, television was “taken a little more seriously then.” With one TV, there were fights over who got to hold the clicker when you sat around the set as a family. “You got one chance to watch it.” He explained. “What a different world we live in now.”

Brian still lives in the area where he grew up and drives past his old house and “down memory lane” often. He is still close to two of his childhood best friends. He shared with me some of his thoughts on aging, a topic that still feels “surreal” to him. “Only recently have I started to experience change. Restaurants etc. going away. Everything that we grew up with has changed. TV, movies, roads, politics. I don’t like this!” He laughed. “You look in the mirror and think.”

Brian had no idea that his letter ended up in the archives of our country’s National History Museum. “Really surprised” is how he described his reaction to the news; one of the aforementioned childhood friends was “blown away.”

“What it said to me (...) was that it reaffirmed/reinforced some of the things that my dad told me. Doing the right thing and following through.” Brian shared.

“What a difference it can make. That this moment is occurring because I spent a few minutes writing.”

~~~~

Thank you so much to Brian for granting me this interview.

Subject photos courtesy of Brian: Letter-era Brian/current-era Brian, Huntington Library Garden, California.

Accession information: Photo taken by me, 3 July 2024. “Letters from viewers regarding the death of Henry Blake.” Box 22, Folder 4. M*A*S*H Television Show Collection, 1950-1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. https://sova.si.edu/record/nmah.ac.0117/ref359?s=0&n=10&t=C&q=NMAH.AC.0117&i=0

[mashhistorian]

On this day, 42 years ago, the M*A*S*H finale “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” aired on CBS. The two and half hour episode achieved a rating of 60.3 and was watched by 105,970,000 in the U.S.

[law-avocados]

Margaret houlihan

[stavrosskundromichalis]

The Friday dinosaur dance theme continues with a pair of Podokesaurus holyokensis doing the Monster Mash in the woods of Massachusetts during the Early Jurassic 🎃🦖👻

[zeravmeta]

"damn i need to know some information about this historical figure"

the ever knowledge shielder servant:

[just-another-nerd-blog]

What's up MASHblr I went to the National Museum of American History last week and they had the signpost on display and I was sooo normal about it I swear

[liedownquisition]

Every time someone writes anything re: the Arrows (esp Ollie) and treat it like they have these like Bat-level strict morals or just otherwise being really "strictly principled"???? it drives me crazy. Like I don't wanna be "you haven't read the comics" but... They haven't.

Ollie, very famously, killed not only Parallax (something which was very difficult for him bcs Hal was his friend, for all their fighting), but also the Electrocutioner (for killing Lian, maiming Roy, and destroying most of his city). There was that whole thing in Crossroads when he worked with Huntress, Catwoman, and Deathstroke, and was killing criminals with guns! Killed a man torturing Dinah! Hell, even further, at least once he helped someone who he considered to have been justified in killing someone escape the law!

I'm pretty sure literally all of his proteges have harder lines than he does (Jason criticizes Mia for limiting her angles to non-lethal in Seeing Red, Oliver being shown to use more brutal methods in a team up with Roy in comic I admittedly don't remember the exact name of & Connor disapproved of Ollie training with the guy who trained Deathstroke to learn the "killing arts" re: 1YL, tho idr if that was more of a killing disapproval or a "dad, really, this guy is awful tho???" kinda deal. Uhhh... Emiko might be an exception to this probably, at least inasmuch as you can consider those two his proteges given I don't think Ollie really trained them that much/they mostly came to him like that). Hell, when Mia killed someone he wasn't mad about her killing so much as that it was her (an innocent kid) that did it!

In the marriage comic, Dinah had apparently killed Ollie in self-defense! (Before concluding that it hadn't been him despite all evidence to the contrary, ect., ect., ect.)

Roy worked for the gov't and definitely killed for them when it was called for. Fell in love with an assassin and walked away instead of turning her in or killing her like he was probably supposed to do despite knowing she'd likely go on to keep killing more people (You could call this a statement on his love for her, which on some level, yeah, but on the other level shows that his lines aren't so well-defined.) The only reason he hadn't killed the Electrocutioner himself is bcs Ollie got there first. For all the complaints re: RHATO/RH&A they are still considered current canon (to an extent, I think some specific things around it might be retconned?) & he has killed in there too.

Emiko as a former assassin/being trained & raised to be a "perfect killer" by Shado I feel is rather self-explanatory.

There's probably more but I'm runnin' out of steam here. Anyways. My point is that while they're not exactly actively murderous vigilantes, they FAR from have some kind of no-kill rule. They'll typically try something else first, but when lines are crossed (like their family) or there doesn't appear to be a better solution that would actually work, they're plenty willing. They're not "Batfam 2.0 but lamer and not as powerful," which seems to be the predominant interpretation most of the time.

EDIT: I have a confession to make, I mis-cited who Ollie killed. I forgot there were TWO GUYS involved bcs it's been so long and it's not exactly a storyline I like revisiting, so they sort of blended in to my mind. The one who tore off Roy's arm, as well as sent the order to set off the bomb that killed Lian was Prometheus, and THAT'S the one who Ollie killed. Roy most definitely did in fact end up killing the Electrocutioner, who was the trigger man who pushed the actual button to set it off, and for a brief period did in fact go on to try and kill Deathstroke before he came to terms with Lian's death. Ollie did also have some regret for killing Prometheus and did try to stop Roy, because he felt that it was a pointless revenge which... tbh considering some of his other things I'm like "okay buddy, little hypocritical there but you are nothing if not a knowingly flawed man trying to do the best by those around him."

[minnowlight]

This was hard to pick out-

[persianflaw]

i was recently looking for some information about an old gay rights group and found this list of pro-gay celebs in an issue of "lesbian tide" from nov/dec 1978. both alan alda and mike farrell are on the list, and both are further noted to have donated money and/or appeared at benefits for gay rights. the full list is in the image alt text, and if you'd like to look at the entire issue, you can find it -> here <-

[seawaterisverysaltywoah]

who does this guy think he is

[fleeglefazbeagle]

🔪Butcher Vanity🥩

OG screenshot:

Context for this version of Secret History Tails :

Basically, it's an AU where Sonic met Secret History Tails not at Sega HQ but rather some seemingly abandoned house.

Instead of Sonic being an employee, he's just some guy who pretty much encounters a rather friendly fellow(SH Tails) who apparently eats people(only jerks, don't worry).

I'll go more into depth in another post.

[dearmash1975project]

One of hundreds of letters sent to CBS after “Abyssinia Henry” aired 50 years ago today on March 18th, 1975. Many of them were from young children.

Last summer I started working on a project with these letters where I tracked down and spoke to many of the children who wrote them (now in their 60s). The project is on hold until I finish this school year, but I leaving cryptic messages on the answering machines of America's boomers resulted in some of the best conversations I've ever had. I'll keep you updated. I chose to share this image as the letter writer is anonymous.

Photo by me, taken 3 July 2024. “Letters from viewers regarding the death of Henry Blake.” Box 22, Folder 4. M*A*S*H Television Show Collection, 1950-1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. https://sova.si.edu/record/nmah.ac.0117/ref359?s=0&n=10&t=C&q=NMAH.AC.0117&i=0

[mashhistorian]

Happy birthday, Kellye Nakahara (1948 - 2020), M*A*S*H’s “cute as hell” Nurse Kellye

[ctheathy]

Representative of Power

Secret History Tails x Reader

NSFW Oneshot

Author's note: I can't believe these fics are the only ones I somehow manage to finish, I swear ☠️ I'm gonna have to get my motivation going again.

Potential ⚠️ TWs⚠️ :

Both reader+character are of legal age or aged-up for obvious reasons in this post!

This is a smut fic, read at own risk. dom!Reader+sub!SH Tails • Dry humping • Use of the term ‘mommy’ but gender is not specified otherwise • Climax mentioned • Tails being vocal

Tails was so overwhelmed.

He wanted you to be proud of him. But as soon as you turned around to leave and allow him to rest? he couldn’t fight the urge anymore: He needed you. Tails didn’t even hesitate, he just lunged forward out of the bed and pushed his body up against yours, ramming your back into the nearby wall. He wanted to be closer, so much closer... He wanted to know what it felt like to be used. All the time he couldn’t talk to you, was all the time he wanted to touch you...

You couldn't help but let out a gasp as he practically launched himself at you, pinning and cornering you into a wall. But despite your shock, you managed to keep a grin on your face. You raised an eyebrow, letting out a faint laugh as you spoke out to your fox partner, putting your hands on his chest to create a little bit of distance.

“Ah... Do you need anything?”

At that moment, Tails could smell your hair. It smelled very… attractive, and familiar. The mobian’s legs went weak as he was close to you. And especially when you rubbed your thumbs on hi, Tails’ face flushed up. He felt so weak and so comfortable in your presence… As if he could literally die of happiness in your arms.

“More…”

He whispered softly, as his eyes widened while staring at you. He needed more.

“more?” You repeated in a tone of question, cocking your head to the side with your smirk expanding a little. “i'm gonna need you to elaborate, my sweet, sweet boy” Your voice rang through the room along with a snicker, directly confirming that you were playing dumb and hard to get, but you had still tried to keep it cool nonetheless. Your fingertips began teasing the fur on his chest, pressing through the coat and circling around on his hot flesh.

Tails let out a small, but loud moan of pleasure as his body was being massaged by your sneaky fingers. He was so turned on right now. And it was the most confusing sensation to him. He felt so wrong for wanting you right now, but he couldn’t even try to resist.

“More, mommy...” Tails whispered. He wanted you to know how good he felt, especially when he said “mommy.” Resulting in you letting out a little ‘hmm’ for joy, smirking to yourself as you leaned in a little. You stuck out your tongue, placing your arms around his shoulders in order to keep him in place. It was quiet other than his heavy breaths, fogging up the place as he panted like a dog.

Though without warning, you pressed your bottom onto his with how close they were, teasing him even further. “like this~?” you purred out, as you grinded your hips onto his lower half, knowing he couldn't do a damn thing about it. And as expected, he once again let out a loud moan as you grinded your body on him.

You were playing this game with him, and he didn’t want to waste any opportunity he had. And so... he grabbed your hips and pinned you down against the wall, and began moving his hips slowly and rhythmically against yours, all the while biting away at his bottom lip.

“sweetheart, you're grinding on me...” you silently muttered, your free hand traveling towards the back of his head, caressing through his fur and reaching his scalp with your fingertips. You weren't necessarily uncomfortable by this outcome, rather just... amused. You ignored the moan that left him as you looked up from your pinned position. “You're going through... it ...aren't you? Do you need some help? Or are you just gonna dry hump me?”

you questioned with a hint of sarcasm and another snicker, not minding the fox in rut. A loud moan leaving his mouth as he heard your question with the obvious taunt. Your fingernails traced across his head, teasing him in the process as you gave him the exact same cocky grin.

“I don’t need help…”

He whispered in between his moans, feeling so humiliated. You were calling him out on something he was still confused about. Your words were also so teasing and he wanted to get back at you. His eyes were locked onto yours, along with his teeth gritting. He moved his hips even faster, getting desperate with the overwhelming sparks he felt in his lower region.

Which only made you snort in response, raising an eyebrow. “oh? You're trying to tell me that you don't require some help, hmm~?” you spoke out in a tone of sass and doubt as your fingers traced all over his body, now getting him even more bothered on purpose. From his shoulders, to his back, to his chest... You were all over him. And before he knew it, you gave him one single grinding movement of your own once again, allowing the warmth of your hips to get to him. And knowing a hopeless mess like Tails would do anything for the sensation at this point.

The moment you gave him that grinding movement, Tails let out a loud and long moan of pleasure that felt so good... His eyes widened and he took a deep breath in. He then moved his hips up and down rapidly and roughly against yours, and his grunts were loud. His teeth were gritting tightly, but in between the loud grunts he was making, he managed to call out to you.

“I don’t need help…!”

However, he still was looking up at you with those desperate puppy eyes... And your smirk just grew a little at that as you backed up, shrugging before you put your hands on his shoulders, pushing him backwards. “If you say so~”

You spoke out in a careless manner, before you yanked his hands off of you. “have fun with your itty bitty problem on your own then. Since you don't need help” your words being cold yet sly, which noticeably made him let out a pathetic growl in response. It were his words, not yours. He'd have to choose between his pride or you.

Tails was so turned on right now, that for a moment he started to get angry. But he couldn’t stay angry with you for too long. He was simply… overwhelmed by his love and lust. And he also still wanted to make you proud, so he simply…

Swallows his pride.

He went to you with a more gentle approach as he laid his head on your shoulder, and spoke softly.

“I need you to help me… mommy…”

This was it. Your shit eating grin reappeared on your face but there was also a hint of softness to it. You were practically melting. You leaned in with your head to the point you were right near him. You blew into his ear and he could feel the warmth of your breath on him, along with hearing a small giggle of amusement. Your free hand went over to caress the back of his neck, moving it up and down as you looked at him with prying eyes

“aww...~ good boy~” you spoke in your best and sweetest tone yet

Tails couldn’t even take it anymore. His breathing was fast, his heart was pounding, and his face was bright red with the drool leaking down his lips. And as you spoke those sweet words to his ear, he let out a vocal whine of pleasure, with his body just collapsing on your shoulder.

He was ready to beg for more. He didn’t even care about anything anymore. The fox just wanted you... your simple grip on him making him shiver with ease, as you held onto him in order to keep him balanced. And in order to reward him, you deeply pressed your bottom onto his groin area once again, returning the sensation in one go. The heat of your body temperature from down there making it so much more difficult for him to handle. Making it even worse so when you began rubbing yourself up and down on him.

Tails began to feel a heaviness on his pelvis... And the moment he felt it, he completely lost himself, he couldn’t handle it anymore. All the priority to keep his pride in check going straight out of the window. You could notice him getting wetter and wetter as time went on, indicating that he was close... feeling his fluids going right through your clothing, along with him becoming more whiny... more needy for anything. With him becoming especially vocal by you gently trying to ease him into it.

“You're doing so well, sweetheart...~” you complimented with a grin, before you sped up the pace of grinding your crotch against his. Keeping a steady grip on him and making sure he wouldn't fall onto the floor just like that, allowing him to rest on your body. You guided his head towards your chest as you put your chin onto his head, flattening his bangs. All while continuing to thrust your hips onto him, making him completely soak.

Tails rested his imbalance on your body, his face buried in your cleavage. He couldn’t handle how soft you were, it felt so amazing... And as you started to thrust your hips onto his, his body went weak, and he just started to moan and drool. He wanted this so much… But, he was getting so close to the limit, so he was holding back as much as he could.

But you were not having that... Making him gasp out and whimper as you grabbed him by the chin, forcing him to look up at you. You pressed your thumb on his chapped lips, making him let out yet another small moan.

“Shh...~ it's okay, sweetie. Will you release your tension for mommy~?” you murmured, keeping his groin pressed up against you and making him shake in his boots. Making a desperate attempt to make small rubbing motions on your body, but you sure kept him in line. And it was clear your plan was working with how moist he was getting himself, his fur now all sticky and wet...

He was so close, he couldn’t resist it anymore. He pressed his legs together as the warm feeling of you was beginning to make his body reach its peak. And he was so sensitive down there, and the wetness… Oh, God. It was so pleasureable. And just like that… he gave in.

“M…m…” He was so shy… “Mommy...” He whispered in a muffled voice, trying to hide his face in your chest. “good boy...~” you just gave him that last tiny push as you held him by his rump, before grinding him on you instead of the other way around. Pushing him against you deeply as you thrusted back in return, creating an even higher sensation than before. The two were like two connected puzzle pieces, and you knew this was really the last thing he'd need before releasing...

And as soon as you made your move, his eyes widened, and he started moaning really loud. His legs went weak, and he started kicking and trembling a little. He still tried to hold back, but, he couldn’t any longer: all his energy got drained immediately as his eyes rolled back, and he started to melt… like a mess. His fluids began to drip.

And as he did, his whole body went slack. You could literally see him go from mischievous and proud to weak and submissive. His body went all soft, and he melted all over you. The mess of fluids that dripped from the two of you was just… so perfect. He couldn’t even speak. He literally lost all of his words as he laid in shame.

Tails would do anything for you...

You gave a huge grin as he came undone and laid out like it was the end of the world. You took a tiny step back but made sure to still hold onto him so he wouldn't collapse, giving his arms a tiny squeeze. He was an absolute wreck. Tears were pouring down his face, with sweat stains visible, and drool was leaking out of the corners of his mouth. And don't even get me started on the festival down there. He looked like he just stepped out of a pond. And this only made it better for you.

Your little fingers massaged over his arms as you pampered him by giving these little kisses all over his face, seemingly not grossed out by the bodily fluids on his face. You even went out and gave him a smooch right on his mouth, allowing his leaking saliva to enter yours.

Tails was just so… humiliated. But he was so used to you having power over him in these private situations. He felt so much shame, but he felt so much love for you, simultaneously. Because you were the one who made him feel this way. And he knew he loved that. So… he was so glad that you found pleasure in his desperation. His body felt the best it ever did. He wasn’t just dripping, he was flowing. And he was completely yours... but...

You didn't seem to be done.

Right before he even got to say anything, you now pushed him against the wall instead, not allowing him the slightest bit of space. You balanced on one of your feet as you tilted up your other leg, right before pressing your knee right onto him again, almost making him choke and gasp out for air once again. Slowly beginning to give more pressure down there.

His legs immediately folded under him as you pushed your knee against his groin. Tails’ whole body went limp, his eyes rolling slightly. His eyes were locked onto your, and he could feel his mouth watering. Your grip on him increased, and he looked like you were playing with him. This time he wouldn’t be able to resist any of this… And he’d be your little pet again. This was just the beginning.

Your mouth went up to his throat as your teeth nipped him, taking his skin in between your side teeth right before letting it slip again, teasing him. Your weight leaned on him as you got into his personal space, the pressure of your knee making him feel turned on again... making him just as sensitive as before while you pressed him in between yourself and the wall, feeling his previous release drip down from your clothing.

You were so careful and gentle with both his mind and body. Tails being all wet like before, then you simply nibbling on his neck and then the heat of your body making him feel so relaxed, he felt like your own little toy. And he loved the fact that he belonged to you. The amount of pleasure he could feel… was unmatched. His hips began to move ever so slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by you.

The fact that he was trying to grind himself against you again was honestly one of the most pathetic sights you've ever witnessed, but you didn't mind. In fact, you were willing to give him a little gift for being so good before. You stood on your tippy toes and went over towards his ear, your breath audible to his senses making his twitch. You gave him one single grinding movement before stopping and whispering something in his ear..

“Go all out with your rut, my little beast~ I'm all yours~” you purred with a chuckle, giving him permission to what he wanted as you began biting at his left ear. You were still gonna take the lead, but you wanted to see just how much he'd do when given the chance to. How much control he'd lose over himself...

Just the feeling of permission from you was so strong for Tails. The moment you blew your breath against his ear, he couldn’t help but moan a little. And that was when he truly started to turn savage with his movements. His body became aggressive and animalistic. He started to moan and pant and he started to thrust rapidly and rough against you. This wasn’t just about him anymore though… It was about him and you. And you held complete control.

You had never heard the boy so vocal before, but you found amusement in how he was practically behaving like a wild animal for you. The mobian had no filter left anymore. Despite your silence in the duration of the act, the desperation on his face and the inhuman noises he was releasing made it much more enjoyable than you thought it would.

You both knew you were absolutely dominating over him the whole time he was going crazy on you, but the feelings he felt… were completely mutual. But at this point, his need to give you the satisfaction felt so strong that he was just giving into you completely. Tails started to cry out loudly with tears running down his face, and not caring that this made it even more arousing for you. He wanted to do everything for you.

And he was basically a vivid representation for your power over him.

[hellhoundclown]

old thing i made last year. in dedication to mario’s madness v2 (and to the people in my inbox telling me so)