The man with the Golden Voice and a Shady Past - why Society must always have Redemption in mind

Heartening story of a homeless man with the radio voice is in danger of being derailed by his criminal past, so before we all leap to judgement, please remember: By the Grace of God go I.

Philip Brennan | PhilipBrennan.net | 6 January 2011:

I am sure you have all seen the video of Ted Williams and his radio voice, but for those who haven’t, here it is again:

I first became aware of this story when someone posted the video up on their facebook wall. And then other people cross posted it and I thought, ‘I had better take a look at this’. Then The Huffington Post ran an article on him yesterday:

You won’t believe your ears.

Ted Williams, a former radio announcer who now panhandles on the side of I-76 in Columbus, Ohio, serenaded a Columbus Dispatch reporter recently with his amazing voice.

Carrying a sign that says he has a “god-given gift of a great voice,” Williams told the Dispatch:

“I just said, well, hey. I can’t be an actor, I can’t be an on-air personality, but the voice just became something of a development over the years and I went to school for it. And then alcohol and drugs and a few other things became a part of my life. I’ve got two years clean, and I’m trying hard to get it back. And hopefully somebody from one of these television or radio stations will say, ‘hey, I need a voice-over,’ or ‘I need something’.”

Then later that day the Cleveland Cavaliers (an American ‘football’ team) offered him a full-time job and arranged a mortgage through Quicken Loans Arena. It appeared that things were looking up for him. Now what could possibly go wrong?

Well, today it transpires that he has some criminal convictions and has spent time in jail for his crimes. I am not going to post up his mug shots because I consider that unkind, as he has done his time. In another article today, Ted Williams talks openly about his past. Yes, I know some old cons use getting religion as another con, especially where they may get extra privileges while in prison, but those ones soon drop all pretence of religion once outside of the nick (prison).

I am hopeful that this man can turn himself around, despite the fact that the United States has no Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and that he will have to declare his convictions when applying for jobs for the rest of his life. One could call me a sucker for saying that, but I am perfectly well aware that he could just as easily fall back into old ways, so I express such hopes without any naivety on my part. I just understand that sometimes a person has to hit rock bottom first, before they have any hope of turning their lives around. Remember:

“By the Grace of God go I…”

It could just as easily be you or me as it could him.

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