The A Team

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Started commenting on this in my previous post & got carried away…

Tuesday night TV watching for Witta Woowie Wocke (1 hour) was devoted to “The A-Team” – in the post-VietNam USA, something was needed to make the people of the country feel good about our soldiers & the travesty of an unwinnable war in Viet Nam. Apocolypse Now didn’t make us feel good, & Magnum PI was pretty intense as well in the way the show had dealt with the very real & very serious issues faced by vets as they attempted to reintegrate into society. The A-Team came at the topic from a slapstick action-adventure TV show, where no one ever got killed or hurt, despite the 3.2 billion bullets fired & bombs exploded in each episode of the show.

The premise of the show was that duh-duh-duh-duh…in 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they did not commit. They promptly escaped a maximum security stockade into the Los Angeles Underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they exist as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire…

The A-Team. Dah, duh-dah, duh-dah-dunh…Love it.

Think about it. These guys, the A-Team, a group of all-around good eggs, serve as soldiers of fortune, usually for free, as modern day heroes that rescue the poor & underprivileged of society. Still, they were accused of a crime that they didn’t commit by the Evil Military Establishment (the same guys, no doubt, that forced John Rambo to retaliate after they took “First Blood.” But that’s another post.)

Here’s a run down of the main players:

  • George Peppard played John “Hannibal” Smith, the brains of the team, known, like his Carthaginian namesake for his incredible battle strategies. His tag-line, in every show, was when the bad guys got their come-uppance – he’d say, with an unlit cigar in his mouth, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
  • Dirk Benedict played Templeton “Faceman” Peck (after his Apollo role on the original “Battlestar Galactica.”) He was the charmer who used his beautiful face & unmatchable hair to woo the ladies into helping the Team. Always a gentleman though.
  • Lawrence Tero aka “Mr. T” played Bosco “BA – Bad Attitude Baracus” the technical wizard who could drive anything, fix anything, & pitied any fool who tried to mess with him, or the black conversion van that he drove (& that you never want to see circling your neighborhood elementary school.) This tough guy with a heart of gold was afraid of nothing. Except for flying. Unfortunately, the Team flew every week, so he had to be tricked & drugged by his “friends,” to get him onto the planes. He never seemed to catch on that he was in for it.
  • Rounding out the team is Dwight Schultz (Georgia: you’d know him from Star Trek: Next Generation fame – he had a bit though recurring part as Reg Barclay, the crewman who lived out his life on the holodeck.) Schultz played “H.M. Howling Mad Murdock” whose claim to fame was his skill at flying anything with wings or a rotor. Only slightly more well known was his PTSD, which made him funny, (not funny ha-ha, but funny, crazy.) Though mentally ill, he was a much beloved member of the Team & was my personal favorite member of the team.

    At various times, female reporter characters were incorporated into the show, where they worked to try to clear the Team by uncovering the truth… with poor results – they don’t warrant mentioning because the opening montage only fired 4 bullets (for the 4 main characters,) so I feel justified in their omission.

    Got a favorite A-Team moment? Mine is the Murdock “I want a tray-ash BAG!” episode.

    • I love it when a plan comes together!

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    Hooray- thanks for the prayers.
    After waiting a month, a prayer & a phone call got me a return call with not ONE but TWO appointments to have an MRI See: What’s an MRI? & an arthrogram (See: What’s an Arthrogram?)

    The plan comes together on 9/14 in the afternoon 1:33-ish, – & depending on my speedy recovery, I should be up & ready to go for Johnny’s game @ 5 p.m., followed by my speeching on Matthew 5:14-16ish at InterVarsity.

    I ask for & value your prayers as I continue this process.

    Pain hurts…

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    Still waiting for the call on the MRI that will allow the doctor to see just exactly how much cutting needs to be done on the shoulder. At this point, I’m using my Jedi-pain management techniques, but am rapidly succumbing to the dark side. I’m finding myself looking for the advil bottle more frequently, & am having the “puppy whimpering noise” that inadvertently comes out of my mouth when I overextend the shoulder, or open the door, or turn on the gas bbq, or move.

    My defense shield has failed, & the warp-drive containment shield is deteriorating. I don’t know how much more she can stand, Captain.

    A side note; being in pain causes pain in other ways – I find that my interpersonal relationships are suffering from the “in pain & I’m being short & gruff w/everyone” issues, resulting from the inner-moron being released on a more regular basis. Or something like that.

    Anyone else ever have a similar experience?

    Shout out to Macgyver…

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    In looking through potential homes, we came across one that had been empty for about a year. One of the reasons for this was that it had a bit of a pet-urine odor. Like Tiger Woods is a bit of a golfer, or Starbucks is a bit of a coffee chain store. Like “cover my nose, fight the ammonia pee smell waves so that they don’t take over my consciousness” smell.

    We spoke w/the owner’s realtor & she claimed ignorance of any smell. Feigned would be a good word. She said it sounded like a ploy on my part to bring down the price on the house. Hmmm. WWMD? (What would Macgyver do?)

    Then it came to me. A black light, if its powerful enough, will illuminate bodily fluids that are normally invisible to the naked eye (can’t remember where I learned this… but it is a WWMD moment for sure…) We took it into the house & turned it on. It worked. Well.

    Pee stains glowed white. Everywhere. There was an occasional spot of carpet w/o any pee spots, but it was a veritable treasure-trove of pet-urine.

    And now, we have evidence that this isn’t just a ploy to drop the price. Hooray…
    My next mission is to take it around my house.

    LDL

    Looking for my happy place…

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    Upside down. Prayers have been answered & the year long renovation & repairs from the water damage are proceeding at breakneck (ok, a snail’s) pace. My house is in construction mode. Plastic covers the rooms. My cave has been dismantled, awaiting a fresh coat of paint. And a floor replacement. The living room is full of our family room furniture. My routine is completely upside down. I miss the familiar sameness of my early morning… Hooray. I’m growing. I think.

    Rolling in it…

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    Its been an interesting week.

    Tuesday, 8/1 – I met for a prayer time w/D&G. Good stuff, came out of it – believing that some wrong attitudes about money (me having/getting it) were redirected. I also became aware of some curses that had been spoken against me & the church family – along the lines of:

    “Your work here will be fruitless. You will have nothing, & do nothing of lasting value. There will never be enough resources & money.”

    Got a really strong encouragement that the truth of the matter was that God wants to lavish (word chosen specifically & carefully,) His blessings & favor on me & on Hillside, using us as an example of His goodness & power. Sounds different than the “nothing” business, don’t it? So what to do?

    Scoff at the curse. Reject it. 1Kings 18 Elijah-style scoffing. On Sunday, 8/6. So I/we did. & there was something broken & something made right.

    What a week.

  • Pack-rat attitudes that the Bean & I have had (& fought) about, the pointless “holding on to stuff in the garage that we haven’t used for 17 years” are changing. Stuff is leaving DAILY. Its leaving (with a little help from Hatice, pronounced – Ha-TEACH-ah) a friend from TPLF in Frankfurt, the garage is almost empty. My garage.
  • Out of the blue, a drywall contractor contacted us through a friend & asked if he could finish the job that has been left undone since the WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE fiasco of 7/30/2005. And, by the way, is it ok if it only costs 1/3 of the original estimate?
  • Hung out at a little fiesta last night @ the Bro’s house & got to see my ‘son’ Bert; he had lived with Joni & I for about a year right before the Weez was born. He & his wife are doing so well together, w/2.5 kids, & loving Jesus. Re-emphasized & reminded us to pursue our dream of influencing people in this way.
  • Our dream of having a house w/an extra room so we can have people live with us (community house/living?) is creeping closer. We went & looked at a house in the nearby neighborhood, with a realtor guy that I like – great possibilities.

    Feels like I’m rolling in it. Blessing, that is.

    • when things don’t make sense…

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    Just thinking a bit…musing. Things don’t always make sense – individual circumstances and perspectives color ‘reality’. I have this picture hanging in my office & I look at it on a regular basis. I try & imagine myself walking the stairs, & think how I would react if the stairs I’d been walking up suddenly were found to be headed in the opposite direction. I imagine myself dealing with the torqued reality very well, rolling with the punches, seamlessly navigating the curveball thrown at me, completely beyond my control. However, beings as I’m a linear-type guy, mostly grounded in reality & the business of Facing Facts, I realize that I’d freak out if confronted with such a bizarre scenario.

    Its only when viewing the whole picture that a general sense of rest comes to me – its not just my stairwell that is messed up, its everybodys stairwells. Relief. Wonder.

    Fantasy Football 2006

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    One of the joys of being done with this round of school is that I have a little more time for the worthwhile, special things that really matter. Like Fantasy football.

    To celebrate this newfound availability, i have created an ESPN league to go with the old Standby league (known as Haro Super Joe), & I’ve also joined another Yahoo league.

    Now I’m wondering: what about a Fantasy Football small group? We’re launching in just about 3 weeks – & its a perfect fit with the start of the football season.

    WHAT IS NEEDED:

  • 11 other “owners” – no experience, but LOTS of follow through required. One person that doesn’t want to play anymore can sabotage an entire fantasy season.
  • Computer/internet access is a must.
  • Willingness to learn about the world of fantasy football. (Which leads to a sidepoint: the word “fantasy” doesn’t have any/many postive connotations or uses. e.g. When I asked Jimmy if he wanted to check out some of the fantasy football mags I had in my office, I got a few very weird looks…)

    Thoughts? Interest?

    • Deep thoughts w/Weez

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    In going through the nightly ritual of “Tucking In” of the Weez, we had one of our “deep thoughts” conversations.

    Daddy: Good night Now! {the Jim Rome voice & reference}

    Weez: I love you so much daddy.

    Daddy: Why is that Weezer-brooks? {one variation of 50 that are commonly used as a term of endearment}

    Weez: Because you are a pretty nice guy.

    Daddy: do you really think so?

    Weez: Well, most of the time. Pretty much. And your belly doesn’t touch your knees.

    Daddy: Are you happy about that?

    Weez: Yes. {talking speed increases 20x} Because at Super Walmart, there was a girl who’s hair came out wrong – I’m pretty sure it was wrong because it was red & green & blue & she was sooo skinny she looked like a toothpick, a real toothpick & her hair came out just wrong. And she was kissing on some guy that was her boyfriend probably her boyfriend because they were kissing, like really kissing each other and it was gross but he had a small shirt on & his belly went all the way down to his knees and it was gross & the girl looked like a toothpick & the guy had a belly that went to his knees & they were kissing & it was weird & gross. {deep breath} I love you so much, daddy.

    And now, a left turn for Jesus…

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    Religion Taking A Left Turn?
    Conservative Christians Watch Out: There’s A Big Churchgoing Group Seeking Political Power

    July 10, 2006 (CBS)

    At a church in Washington, hundreds of committed Christians met recently and tried to map out a strategy to get their values into the political debate.

    But these are not the conservative Christian values which have been so influential lately. This is the religious left.

    “Jesus called us to love our neighbor, love our enemy, care for the poor, care for the outcast, and that’s really the moral core of where we think the nation ought to go,” Dr. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches told CBS News correspondent Russ Mitchell.

    The National Council of Churches represents about 50 million Christians in America — the majority of them mainline Protestants.

    “Jesus never said one word about homosexuality, never said one word about civil marriage or abortion,” Edgar said.

    He calls this movement the “center-left” — and it’s seeking the same political muscle as the conservative Christians, a group with a strong power base in the huge Evangelical churches of the South.

    But the left has its own Evangelical leaders, such as the Rev. Tony Campolo.

    “We are furious that the religious right has made Jesus into a Republican. That’s idolatry,” Campolo said. “To recreate Jesus in your own image rather than allowing yourself to be created in Jesus’ image is what’s wrong with politics.”

    Read the full article Jesus & Politics, Part Deux