Sometimes the Internet isn’t just a forum for trading cat pictures and complaining about celebrities. The Web was aflame yesterday with the story of a homeless man named Ted Williams from Columbus, Ohio, who claimed to have a “golden radio voice.” The video provided by the Columbus Dispatch confirms it: Williams has a rich, creamy baritone that would make Don LaFontaine jealous.
The 53-year-old Williams, who trained to be a radio announcer in college but whose career was waylaid by drugs and alcohol, appeared on a local radio show this morning to debut his voice to the general public, and the offers flooded in. The handsomest arguably came from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who offered him a full-time job and a house of his own.
From the Redditors who made the story into a viral sensation, to the professional basketball club who offered him a job, to Williams’ own humility and profuse gratitude, everything about this story is absolutely heartwarming. Reddit, always the most civil of the various Web 2.0 forums, emerges as a nearly heroic institution. And we can all use a reminder of how important it is to rehabilitate recovering addicts. In the nadir of his addiction, Williams would have been viewed as a criminal and a drain on society. Today he’s a national hero.
I just saw a reunion between Ted and his mother on the Today Show. That woman is toxic for her son! She is a judgmental, unforgiving Jehovah’s Witness. She clings to the past. I understand that that is a normal reaction to someone who has disappointed her over and over, but she had not one loving word for him.
Actually she said her husband was a JW and that she was another faith.
I agree she was toxic, wonder what led him to drug and alcohol abuse
I was cringing watching her say unloving things!
Something Jesus never did, even when he had just cause!
from
a fellow loving JW 🙂
Only IN THE USA can someone’s life be turned around in such a quick way. Hope is eternal and this man’s hope was honored through the kindness of other americans. Thank you USA .