Wednesday, January 12, 2011

And He Lived Happily Ever After. Maybe.


Everyone loves a happy ending. That is what I wish for Ted Williams, formerly known as HOMELESS GUY.  In the event you've been living under a rock and don't know who Ted Williams is, he's a homeless man who was panhandling on the streets of Ohio advertising his unique talent.  Said talent?  He has a golden voice.  A "you're listening to Magic97" golden voice.  A local reporter captured video footage of him and put it on Youtube and, as they say, the rest is history. Yet another obscure nobody catapulted to social media celebrity (see Antoine "hide your kids hide your wife" Dodson) via Youtube.  He's gotten offers the world over to do all kinds of voice-over work.  He's now done announcing for The Today Show, Dr. Phil Show, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have offered him a house (homeless no more!) and a full time announcer job!  And the offers keep pouring in.  Talk about overnight success - wow.  But this man has lived a hard, sad life.  Addicted to crack, alcohol, and estranged from his 9 children for many years.....this man deserves a break.  He deserves not only a second chance, but a happy ending.  The whole world (well, maybe not the whole world) is watching w/ baited breathe to see if he gets it or relapses. Most people do not get the instant brush with fame/celebrity like Mr. Williams, but we do often get the chance to right the wrongs we've done.  Unfortunately, life does not come with do-overs so if you ever are given the opportunity of a second chance (for anything!) - take it.  Take that second chance and do something with it.  Make it count.  Create your happy ending.  Learn from past mistakes and try not to repeat them.  And should you inevitably do so, don't let it knock you out of the game.  It's one thing to get knocked down, it's another to stay down.  Personally, I'm rooting for Mr. Williams, the artist formerly known as Homeless Guy.  I hope he uses this opportunity to get clean, repair his relationships with his children, and find happiness.  Because I think everyone deserves a happy ending.

*sidebar: Happy to report that Mr. Williams is getting his grill fixed.  Perhaps now he'll look even more like his famous (my opinion) look-alike.
 


*If you got a second chance in life, what would you do differently?

1 comment:

  1. Great blog! I agree with your comments about the Homeless Guy making it big. It is nice to hear a feel-good story like his every once in a while, and I hope he can keep it up. I wonder how many prodigies, geniuses and former wunderkinds there are that have found themselves in similar situations because of poor life decisions or negative association....

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