Ted Williams - The Man With a Golden Voice

Wow! It will be a long time before I forget seeing the man on the street corner in Columbus, Ohio and hearing his wonderful voice. Unexpected, surreal, disbelief, and excited were just a few thoughts that initially came to mind when I saw his smile and heard his voice.

Thanks to AT&T Uverse, I had the ability to rewind and play, rewind and play, rewind, pause, and then play it again so my wife could see the clip and hear his voice. Without knowing anymore than the short clip we were seeing and the voice we were hearing, we knew this was going somewhere and it was going to be big. After all, this clip was on national TV and had such an impact that our world momentarily stopped to take it all in.

A true rags to riches story - a wonderful reminder of what can be when we stay positive and are simply given a chance to truly be all that we can be; yet, a sad reminder of what can happen to any one of us when life and it's circumstances run us over.

His name is Ted Williams, a 53-year-old homeless man, now 2-years into recovering from drug and alcohol abuse. He was discovered by Doral Chenoweth III, a journalist, videographer, and Web producer for The Columbus Dispatch.

Ted Williams had a sign, a beautiful voice, and a hope that he could turn things around. In fact the sign he held when he was on that Columbus, Ohio street corner (Hudson Street ramp off northbound I-71) read "I have a God given gift of voice, I'm an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times. Please! Any help will be greatfully appreciated. Thank you and God bless you / Happy Holidays".

And, Mr. Williams certainly did have a "God given gift of voice"!

As the story goes, Ted Williams has received countless job opportunities and should be gainfully employed for years to come. In fact, he's already recorded audio spots for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, voiceover work from MSNBC, the Cleveland Cavaliers offered him a full-time job and a house, the list goes on. Financial concerns and homelessness should now be in the rear view mirror for Mr. Williams.

Starting at roughly 4 minutes and 30 seconds into the video (immediately above) you will see the genuine appreciation of Ted Williams when he is reunited with Doral Chenoweth on "The Last Word" with Lawrence O'Donnell.

In short, this is what this story is about. Sure, when economic times are as tough as they are for some many people right now, this is another reminder of what can be in this country and how quickly your financial fortunes can change when a few things fall into place. More importantly though, stories like this happen when people work together to take care of each other.

What transpired here may not have been the original intentions and motives of either Mr. Williams or Mr. Chenoweth, but the end result underlines the importance of treating everyone with real compassion, having an open mind, and a willingness to give everyone a chance regardless of what you think about the cover of their book and the story you think you'll find inside.

Mr. Williams is just one of countless individuals who have a lot to give and a yearning to give it. Despite what you often hear at the water cooler, hard work doesn't always translate into good luck and financial success. Life happens and, to varying degrees, has a funny way of getting in the way. For good or bad!

Regardless of the social and economic rings you run in, we all need help in going from where we are to where we want to be. Let us not forget and may this be another wakeup call that there are countless other stories out there waiting to be discovered - simply love one another and take the time to find out more about those we see on a daily basis.

Doral Chenoweth had the time and took the opportunity to do more than just pass on by. For doing so, his life will be forever changed and, for a few moments, so will ours as we embrace Mr. Williams and listen to his beautiful voice!