Original Air Date: 1/30/84
Written by: Everett Greenbaum & Elliott Reed
Directed by: Peter Levin
Klinger and Soon-Lee are making preparations for the birth of their child. Klinger is upset when Soon-Lee mentions she received hand-me-downs from friends and family, to use for their child. He feels like its charity, and is determined to find a way to make some extra money.
He decides to try betting--first on a horse race, then on a basketball. He even bets on Jai Alai, without even knowing what it is!
Meanwhile, Col. Potter tells Bob Scanell that because of some shrapnel that's been in his shoulder since WWI, he needs surgery again. At first, Bob is hesitant, but listens to Potter's advice and agrees. Scannell searches out Father Mulcahy--not because he's afraid of dying, but to change his will.
Klinger ends up winning some money right away, and of course he's thrilled. Col. Potter admonishes him to be careful--save what he's won, and don't try and win anymore. But of course Klinger won't listen, and is sure that his winning streak will continue.
He comes across a crap game run inside a bathroom of General General, and can't help but get involved. Before long, he's lost it all. Unfortunately, before this, he called Soon-Lee and told her to head down to the baby store and buy everything they needed.
Later, one of the nurses went to get Bob Scanell to prep him for his surgery, but he's missing. Potter tells her to put Klinger in charge of finding him, but Klinger is nowhere to be found, either.
They're both at a nearby bar, drowning their respective sorrows and worries. Klinger tells Scanell about his upcoming fatherhood, and Scanell talks about how lonely he is--he even has a kid, but he doesn't ever come to visit him.
Father Mulcahy funds them, and Klinger has to face Col. Potter, and then Soon-Lee, and tell her the bad news. Soon-Lee is elated at their new found wealth, and Klinger can't just bring himself to tell her what's happened.
But then Klinger finds an envelope in his desk, filled with $500 in cash. How did it get there?
Klinger finds Father Mulcahy and tells him about the money, sure that it was left there by Col. Potter. Mulcahy tells Klinger it wasn't Potter, it was Bob Scanell!
We then flashback to Bob and Mulcahy finishing up the will, and after Bob leaves Col. Potter his beloved fishing pole, he shows Mulcahy a coffee can he has filled to the brim with cash, uncashed checks, and bonds--a small fortune. Bob's been receiving various checks over the years, but since he's been living at the V.A. all these years he needed any of it.
Before he went under the knife, Bob made Mulchay promise that $500 of his money go to Klinger's unborn child. Klinger thanks him profusely, and Bob is wheeled into the O.R.
Later, Bob wakes up, the surgery having gone perfectly. Klinger and Soon-Lee are there, along with Col. Potter.
Fun Facts: Mildred Potter, Mike D'Angelo, Alma Cox, and Dr. Boyer do not appear in this episode.
Favorite Line: Col. Potter is showing his old war buddy Bob Scanell his x-ray, and how some shrapnel he got in WWI has been moving around his body over the decades: "This stuff's been on the road longer than The Student Prince."
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