They Call Me Mr. T 4


I didn’t invite Mr. T*, but he came anyhow.

Sometimes Mr. T lands noisily into your house – big, loud and undeniable.

Sometimes Mr. T slips in quietly, slowly, barely noticeable, taking up residence completely, refusing to be evicted despite your prayers and the occasional rallying of his enemies laughter, joy and contentment.

You know Mr. T don’t you? Oh, perhaps you know him by his other name, Trouble. Trouble has arrived. You don’t know what room he’ll pop up in. You don’t know when he’ll wake up from his nap or return from his ever so brief vacations.

Mr. T doesn’t like when it’s quiet, so he’ll make some noise. Mr. T doesn’t like to be alone, so he’ll wake you up from your sweet slumber to make you keep him company. Mr. T doesn’t like agreement, so he’ll question your motives or repeat his arguments until you are no longer sure what you think. Mr. T doesn’t like soft, so he’ll slam hard. Mr. T doesn’t like hard, unless he’s making it hard, so he’ll break resistance down.

The bastard.

Mr. T pushes you away then pulls you back. The imbalance keeps you holding your breath. What will it be today Mr. T? What can I serve you today?

Mr. T surely you are tired of our home, our rooms, our food, our fuel. Surely you know us well enough to be bored. Surely we’ve give you enough traction. You’ve proven to us how big and how bad you are.

Move on. Please move on Mr. T. Not to another family but out to sea. Swim with the fish for a little while.

Related:

Mr. T was an actor, Professional Wrestler and Celebrity Body Guard.  He appeared in television on The A Team and in the movie, Rocky.


About Candelaria Silva

Candelaria Silva-Collins is a marketing, community outreach and programming consultant; writer; and trainer/facilitator who lives in Boston, Massachusetts. She has designed and facilitated workshops on a wide variety of topics including communication, facilitation, job search skills, team building, and parenting issues. She currently coordinates the Community Membership Program of the Huntington Theatre Company. Her work as Director of ACT Roxbury was profiled in several publications, including The Creative Communities Builders Handbook. Candelaria’s children’s stories, short stories, essays and reviews have been published in local and national publications and she is an active blogger. Her publications include the booklets, Handling Rejection; Pushing through Shyness: Networking Tips when You’re Shy, Slow to Warm Up or Just don’t Feel you Belong; and Real Questions about Sex & Relationships for Teens: A Discussion Guide for Parents. She has served on the boards of Goddard College, Wheelock Family Theatre, Boston Foundation for Architecture, and Discover Roxbury. She is currently Chair, Designators of the Henderson Foundation.

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4 thoughts on “They Call Me Mr. T

  • Carolyn

    I have always loved Mr. T because although he can be boisterous and is definitely large he is kind, gentle and on the side of Peace and Justice. Now on the other hand the imposter, Mr. Contentious–who often poses as Mr. T because he loves Mr. T’s swagger (and don’t forget his identical triplet brothers, Mr. Fear and Mr. Anger)–acts as you describe and he/they are never welcomed house guests! They have rolled up to my crib on occasion and my prayer is, “Oh hell no!” I call upon God’s Spirit to meet them at the door, “You’re NOT welcomed so bounce!” But you’re right, sometimes Mr. Contentious & siblings sneak in and the only thing to thwart his/their destructive antics is the binding power of Christ. So take authority over him/them in your heart and drive them out of your home–they have to leave and your Peace will be restored. Peace and Love!

  • Denise Dabney

    I’ve known Mr. T in his many forms and while there are time periods when I don’t even recognize him, eventually Mr. T will remind me with a full frontal affront attack! Whoa! I’ve also known him in other configurations: Mr. Technology (Mr. T) drove me to a frenzy when I was a struggling grad student trying to learn SPSS ( a forerunner to SAS) statistical research for social science. Mr. T (ech) had me cowering in a corner and fearful I’d never complete my dissertattion and questioning my academic cred. But I somehow figured it out. So no matter in what form Mr. T appears, just send him on his way!