I’m thinking that you have probably seen this story on the news which first aired nationally yesterday – at least this was the first I saw of it….. Cavs offer homeless man with golden voice a job and a house.  This is the story of Ted Williams, a 53-year-old homeless man and former radio announcer from Columbus, Ohio, who had fallen on hard times, battled drugs and alcohol and even served time in prison.  A Columbia Dispatch web producer/videographer, Doral Chenoweth, saw him on the street with a sign saying that he had a “God given gift of voice” but had fallen on hard times and needed money.  Mr. Chenoweth asked him to speak into his camera and use his “God given gift of voice,” and obviously he was very impressed because he took the video back to the Dispatch and now Ted is everywhere!  According to the NBC affiliate in Atlanta, GA, “The video went viral on YouTube, garnering nearly 12 million views as of Thursday morning. Williams went on local radio to tell his story, and then the work offers began pouring in.”  He has been on NBC’s Today Show twice, the Early Show, the Jimmy Fallon show and much more….  And now Kraft Foods and the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team have offered him voice-over jobs….  Plus he has had a reunion with his mother, whom he hadn’t seen in at least 10 years  - though I must say, she wasn’t very supportive, to say the least, but I guess we don’t know all of the details or the whole story.

Anyway, as I sit and watch this, I just pray that this incredible, feel-good story stays that way.  Ted has been sober for two years, and he has obviously wrestled with some demons in his lifetime.  I hope that this sudden fame and fortune doesn’t work against him.  When he was backstage at NBC on Thursday, he met psychologist Dale Atkins, who told him to meditate rather than medicate.  She also suggested some breathing exercises to use when anxious.  In essence, she gave him some emotional and psychological help during this time, which is fantastic; he is going to need any kind of emotional support he can get at this crazy time. 

Here’s to wishing Ted all the best and continued great fortune with his life.  I am hoping that when I am watching The Today Show five years from now, they will do a segment on all of Ted’s successes and spectacular feats since he was discovered in January 2011.  Go Ted!

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