You can hear him stressin' out in this clip. I hope he surrounds himself with the right people and takes everything one step at a time. Imagine
having spent the previous 10+ years of your life without a home, in and out of your children's lives, battling addiction, and then within 24 hours
you're THE talk of the country and have dozens of offers to fly you all over the world for interviews and job offers. This dude was panhandling
YESTERDAY MORNING.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
I have to be honest. When I first saw this story, I was VERY skeptical about this. I've seen radio stations do similar things (mysterious billboards
around town for some dude looking for work, etc.) to stir up publicity over some new morning man they just hired or whatever, so I wouldn't have put
it past some sleazebag promo director (is there any other kind?) to try and make some cynical use of the bad economy and the homelessness issue for
ratings.
But this guy really does seem legit. I haven't listened to all the clips, but after that woman called in about her friend freezing to death...if it
is a hoax, and they didn't kill it right then and there, that's a special kind of evil. I hope the dude finds work and does well. He's already gone
farther in radio than I ever did.
"The homeless man with the "golden radio voice" wanted a second chance -- and did he ever get it.
As soon as Ted Williams, a panhandler who became an online hit after video of him begging on an Ohio roadside was posted to the Internet, appeared on
a local radio show this morning the offers began pouring in -- including a dream job with the Cleveland Cavaliers and a free house."
So the original YouTube video has been updating people, and this is the final one:
"UPDATE-FINAL: Well everyone. You can give yourselves and Ted a high-five. He's being given offers hand-over-fist over the air. He'll be set for life.
My request to all. Whenever you run across a story such as this, don't assume it'll take a life of its own, on its own. It won't. It can't.
There are too many other stories that drown out the one before it.
You need to spend time to get that story and its word out to many. If you care, you'll do it.
Keep the faith, pay forward and always lend a hand; even if you're the one who needs it.
God bless Mr. Williams. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him for sometime to come"
"I was born to hustle roses down the avenues of the dead." - c.bukowski
Originally posted by Brit
I'm all teary-eyed, this is amazing. I'm so happy. From 300 views to 130,000 to The Today Show?! Unbelievable!!!!!!!
I had a conversation the other day with Mark about how I don't understand why people put so much negative energy into the world via the internet. You
know, hiding behind a computer screen on their critical soapboxes being rude and cruel for the sake of it. I don't understand that mentality. And I
said that if people put that kind of energy into something GOOD, things would be better.
This is the perfect example. This shit needs to happen more often.
Brit you hit the nail on the head. What you said is true and even I myself have been guilty of the above statement. I am glad you brought this to my
attention and I have given it a lot of time on my Action Recon site.
I love how honest he is about his difficulties, talking specifically about drinking a fifth a day, snorting cocaine, smocking crack, doing time, the
crimes he committed in order to support his habit. He's definitely not glossing over what it can mean to be an addict.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
I had a conversation the other day with Mark about how I don't understand why people put so much negative energy into the world via the internet. You
know, hiding behind a computer screen on their critical soapboxes being rude and cruel for the sake of it. I don't understand that mentality. And I
said that if people put that kind of energy into something GOOD, things would be better.
This is the perfect example. This shit needs to happen more often.
I was thinking about something similar the other day, and the main thing I could tell myself is that people still have the mindset of "it's just the
internet, and it's not real life, so I can say/do whatever the fuck I want without consequences." That made sense a decade ago, but not now.
The Reddit thing is awesome, too. I read it the other day. Reed83's friend is on that, I think it was like #6. The guy with the kid who had some
problems and started up the program to introduce kids to healthy food, who won, I think, a $25,000 grant from Pepsi.
i'm sure he'll largely be out of the limelight (news, blogs, appearances) by next week or the week after.
but he does have a marketable talent and that's the huge difference between him and most internet stars. like that bed intruder dude. yeah, i'm glad
antoine rode his fame for every cent it was worth and i was certainly empathetic given how he came to his fame, but what's he gonna do when it all
fizzles out? at best, he'll invest in something that will help him improve his situation down the road - a new house, education, whatever. or worst
case, he's already blown that cash on getting his hair done.
if ted's getting paid for all the appearances he's doing now, and he takes that job with the cavs, maybe gets an agent for contract work on the side,
he could be well set. if he plays this smart and can stay on the wagon i'm sure he'll do just fine.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
This poor guy. A wack load of media attention and all the money in the world will not cure a life time of drug and alcohol abuse. He needs to take
that more seriously then every offer he gets combined. That is the only way he has any hope in hell of making his way back to a good normal life. And
I am for one am rooting for this dude 100%.
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