Meeting Mr. T.
On having plans and loving it when they come together.
Meeting my Heroes is an occasional essay series from Matt Carmichael.
One of the other people whose heroes I met is… my younger selves…
I didn’t have a lot of heroes that I remember, when I was growing up. I certainly didn’t consider “super heroes” to be my heroes. Looking back, I’m not sure why. Maybe because they weren’t real and their powers were impossible, no matter how much we all wanted to fly. Maybe it was because the things that made them heroes, like massive strength, were traits I would never begin to posses. Not sure.
But I have rarely, if ever, been disappointed in efforts to try to impress my younger selves. I’ve had that opportunity a few times. These next few issues will tell those stories:
One hero I remember having was Hannibal Smith, the leader of the A-Team. The A-Team was a TV show that was big when I was in 4th grade. It aired on Tuesday nights and on Wednesdays we would all talk about it at school. It was about a group of former war heroes who had been falsely accused of some crimes. The police wanted to arrest them, so they were always on the run. But they would help people solve their problems, especially if they were being bullied. The A-Team would show up, build a crazy contraption and fight off the bad guys just in time, before they police showed up. Hannibal would create these elaborate scenarios to trick the bad guys. He’d get all excited and caught up in the preparation and his teammates, like B.A. (Bad Attitude) Baracus would say, “Watch out, man, he’s on the jazz,” which basically meant that he was embracing his passion for helping others. Everything would usually go haywire but work out in the end because he had such a great team working behind and with him.
At the end of each episode Hannibal would turn to the rest of the A-Team and say, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
That’s the part I liked. So much in life works out better when you have a plan. You need to think things through. More importantly, you need to have contingencies for when your initial plot doesn’t go as you thought it would. Get wrapped up in it. Soak in the jazz. But also have a plan B. Having a plan C doesn’t hurt either. Importantly, when you have done the work of planning, you’re in way better shape to vamp when the plans all fall apart, as they often did on the A-Team
I never met Hannibal, or the actor who played him, George Peppard.
I mentioned another character from the A-Team, B.A. Baracus. He was a big, strong intimidating guy with a mohawk and tons of gold chains around his neck. Like Hannibal, he had a number of catch-phrases like, “I pity the fool,” and “quit your jibba jabber.” Yes, I’m talking about Mr. T.
So you can imagine my excitement when he came to my block to film the pilot for “I pity the tool,” his short-lived DIY home improvement show. Andrew was off at Grandpa’s house with his mom, but Meredith, Jane and I waited patiently for Mr. T. to be done shooting so that we could go meet one of Dad’s heroes.
His producers were encouraging and offered hints on when he would be free. Eventually the time came and we headed up the block. I heard him talking to one of the crew members as we approached. “It’s not an act, man. I’m really like this.” And then he said something that his “character” B.A. often said: “I do this for the kids.”
He took his time with us. He gave us Pocket Mr. T. toys that my kids love to pull out because Mr. T. can get away with telling dad to, “Shut Up! Fool!” even if they can’t. He took pictures and chatted.
I can’t say for sure if B.A. was based on the kindness of Mr. T., or if Mr. T. came to be based on the kindness of B.A.
Regardless, he showed us to always be yourself, whomever you are. To be good to other people, stand up for yourself, stand up for others, and support your teammates, even if, and perhaps especially if, they’re on the jazz.
All of that is essential to help make those plans come together.
Younger me had a lot of limits in his world. So I like to do him a solid when I can. And remind myself of how I got to be who I am now. All the versions of me along the way. Maybe trying I’m to be his hero? Maybe trying to validate his choices.
And yes, I have both a Hannibal action figure and a Lego A-Team van and Mr. T. on my desk.
Of course I think now about my kids, too. What they will be like at various stages? Who will they look up to and why? Will they get to meet their heroes too?
It’s just a shame that not everyone’s heroes get to be on the A-Team.
Or do they….