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"Please Don't Disappoint Me."
That's what the 92-year-old mom of Ted Williams, the golden-voiced homeless guy with the feel-good story of the year, said to her son at the emotional televised reunion.
And that has stayed with me.
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Will we look back in six months or a year and consider Williams' discovery and new-found celebrity status a success?
I know people (even family members, if you want to be honest) who have become productive citizens after flirting with petty crime, drug use and general stupidity for too many years.
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But there was something about how after years of not seeing each other, Julia Williams was reminded of unhappy memories after being reunited with the her clean, lemon-scented son.
Watch the reunion here:
The kind of bitter memories (just think of those wild arrest photos of Williams that have been released) that would lead a mother to beg, "Please don't disappoint me."
If I were a betting man, I would lay down a few bucks on Williams' name being on a police docket in the not-too-distant future.
[EDITORS NOTE: Amazingly, about an hour after I sent this blog to my editor, a story crossed the wires that Williams had been briefly detained by Los Angeles police Monday evening, after getting into a yelling match with one of his daughters.
I am sorry to have been right about Williams' run-in with the authorities.
However, I will give double-or-nothing it won't be his last.]
There was something about how his mother publicly pleaded with him, though, that reveals dozens of attempts of Williams to clean up -- and dozens of failures.
If Williams, 53, blows this chance, he may as well give it up for good, because it seems the entire world is reaching out to make him a success.
Aside from the many news media appearances, Williams was hired to do voice-overs for Kraft products. It's ironic the first ad voiced by a guy who was homeless just a week ago appeared during the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl Sunday evening.
Williams has also fielded job offers from the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, NFL Films and has even been offered free work from a dentist offering to fix up his jacked-up grill.
It would be wrong to begrudge Williams his good fortune, wouldn't it?
But is it fair that other deep-throated announcers who haven't fathered nine kids, gotten addicted to cocaine and alcohol and been involved in crimes -- guys who basically have been doing the right thing for all their lives -- aren't getting sweet offers from food companies, basketball teams and professional sports leagues?
Nope, it's not fair, but who ever said life was going to be fair?
Either way, I hope Ted Williams keeps his nose clean ... and heeds the words of his mother.
Comments: (20)
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By: Mrs. DMS on 1/11/2011 2:12PM
Now all he has to do is fix those teeth!
Seriously, congrats on your alcohol and drug habit being kicked Ted. It is my hope now, that the media allows you to settle into your life now. Fresh off these things, this "live up to expectations" drill, can drive a vunerable person, right back into their hell, as they can't cope with such attention.
It is my hope that the media leaves him alone now, and let him settle into his new found life! It is my hope that he reaches out to his family, apologize to his then wife and kids, and began to make amends with them. Let Ted live his life now. It would be nice to hear about him, within a year or so, not everyday. Congrats to you again, Ted!
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By: ARNEADER on 1/11/2011 2:55PM
I think he needs to get as far away from his family and love them from a DISTANCE!
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By: Robert on 1/11/2011 3:05PM
You know what happened right?
He got carried away and thought he could contact his daughter. He is high on life right now and doesn't need to screw it up. When you come into success leave family out of it. She was probably like "Where my cut of the money nigga." And he probably responded, "WTF!?" Family will just be as bitter and resentful as when you didn't have anything. You momma will take you back (maybe) but not your kids. Stop callin the po'lees for every family fight! Dam Black folk!
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By: mocha on 1/11/2011 3:11PM
I am very proud of Ted. But I can also feel where his momma is coming from too. Think about how worried she was about Ted all these years. That takes a lot out parents and family members. First of all Ted needs a tight relationship with God. And he needs a really tight support system to keep him on the up and up. He could still do some counseling. He needs a good lawyer and financial counselor so he does not blow his money. And his spending is kept in check.
Ted needs to make amends with his family! But I think he is going to need someone from outside of the family to mediate. Because there are a lot of hard feelings in this situation. All of the hostility whether warranted or not could drive him back to the hell he came from. The media needs to leave him alone and let him live his life. Or he could become another Susan Boyle. Because it is hard to cope and adjust with all of the attention and constantly being in the spotlight.
May God Bless Ted and his family abundantly.
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By: Nicia on 1/11/2011 3:08PM
She looks amazing for 92!! She looks more like his sister than mother. He definitely looks like he had a hard life. I wish him the best and hopes he doesn't disappoint his family any more. Prayer works and a strong support system will be the best thing for him. As long as the media leaves him alone and let him heal on his own he will be ok. They have a tendency to build you up just to watch and document your decline from grace.
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By: BG on 1/11/2011 3:18PM
If the voice is all he has (and it appears so), then he should make the best use of the tokens he is getting here and there while it last.
Just ask Whitney Houston.
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By: nomoxcuses on 1/11/2011 4:05PM
"...a story crossed the wires that Williams had been briefly detailed by Los Angeles police Monday evening after getting..."
detained. Not detailed. If you're gonna slam someone@ least use correct grammar.
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By: cnola on 1/11/2011 11:50PM
no it is "detained"...he was briefly held by police, read that sentence again..."detailed" doesn't belong.
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By: Verona411 on 1/12/2011 4:22PM
Recover is a journey and a process. We are all hoping for the best however, we must also accept and expect the pitfalls and down cycles of recover. The question is not if Ted Williams can not disappoint his mother or the public that is really pulling for him. The question is if Ted Williams can manage his demons and live a productive life. We all have demons but for some of us, keeping them at bay is critical to our life success.
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By: Mary on 1/11/2011 5:38PM
Ted Williams needs a coach. He needs a mentor. He needs a brother (preferably) who knows the power of sudden success and wealth, who will take him under his wings and teach him how to control, invest, manage and spend his money! Short of that, his chances for maintaining his new found success, wealth and sobriety is next to zero!
To a recovering addict or substance abuser, two years sober is a milestone. Take that same recovery personality however, fill their pockets with money, thrust them into the limelight and leave them to their own devices and you the beginnings of the perfect storm that will ultimately lead to destruction.
Ask anyone you know and they will swear on a stack of bibles that they could manage instant wealth successfully, alone. But if you Google the success rate of lottery winners, people who receive sizable inheritances or those who have suddenly come into windfalls, you'll find from the ghetto to the middle class to the suburbs, that the failure rate far outweighs those who end up as success stories.
Prosperity and wealth are mindsets first, and then tangible. And just like anything else (driving a car, starting a new job, starting a business, raising a wholesome family) the mindset has to be taught...you must have a teacher and/or a frame of reference, to guide you thru that earning process.
So many people have come into success and wealth and lost it almost in the same breath, for lack of accountability to someone who is invested in the well being and long-term success of their charge.
I pray that someone (preferably a man but if not, a woman will do just fine) will walk beside this man and help him to live and represent, well! And I pray that he has the common sense and humility to receive instructions from a mentor.
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