Turns Out, You Don’t Need the Van

When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was five, I probably didn’t have a carefully mapped-out career strategy, a five-year plan, or a LinkedIn profile (shocking, I know). What I had instead was a TV, an imagination, and the absolute certainty that adults were missing a trick.

Because obviously… I wanted to be in The A-Team.

Not “like” them. Not “inspired by” them. No—in the team. Driving the van, welding something together out of scrap in a barn, and emerging ten minutes later with a fully operational, physics-defying contraption. That seemed like a perfectly reasonable life goal.

Looking back now, it says a lot.

It wasn’t about fame or money. It was about belonging to something—your people, your crew. A band of misfits who somehow made things work, usually with duct tape, bad plans, and sheer stubbornness. There’s something in that which sticks, even decades later.

As a kid, you don’t overthink it. You don’t worry about qualifications or whether you’ve got the “right experience.” You just see something that feels right and go, “Yeah… that. I’ll have that.”

And maybe that’s the point.

Because while I never quite made it onto The A-Team (still waiting for the call, by the way), bits of that idea carried on. The tinkering. The creativity. The slightly chaotic “let’s see if this works” approach to life. 

Turns out, you don’t need the van or Mr. T’s jewellery to live a version of it.

You just need a bit of imagination… and maybe a shed to build things in.

Stay safe,
BC

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About Bob W Christian

Bob W Christian has been writing poetry for more than 20 years. He started as a way to help to process his thoughts and emotions as an autistic man, and to address the impact of CPTSD. As he wrote, and slowly gained the confidence to share his poems, he was given incredibly positive feedback, which spurred him to write more. During that time, he has written six books, and had numerous guest publications in books and magazines around the world. His work has earned several accolades recently, including recognition in the Dark Poet’s Club 2025 competition. Alongside poetry, Bob enjoys photographing nature and birds, and is often praised for his keen eye behind the lens. A husband, father and grandfather, he regularly shares his observations, reflections and creative work through his personal blog, The Ramblings of Bob Christian.

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