COLUMN: Neither books, nor people, should be judged by their appearance
With every new year comes hundreds of new Internet phenomenons and 2011 started off with a bang.
Enter Ted Williams, a 53-year-old homeless man who stood on the side of roads in Columbus, Ohio, with a sign claiming he had a “God-given gift of voice.”
Thank God for people like Columbus Dispatch videographer Doral Chenoweth. If not for his video on Williams, no one would know his story, and his story is a good one.
Williams says in the video that he went to school for radio and that it was his involvement with drugs and alcohol that derailed his progress into the broadcast industry.
That career, however, is having quite the resurrection with rumored job offers coming from small radio stations all the way up to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This is why I love the Internet.
Not only does it supply me with endless entertainment on many fronts, but it also allows people like Williams to have their story told.
It is a touching story of a man who made like a phoenix, rose from the ashes of addiction and managed to “get found.” In the video he says he was hoping someone might see his sign and help him out, which is exactly what Chenoweth did.
The story ended up being national news with Williams appearing on the “Early Show” and other morning shows sharing not only his story, but his voice as well.
Williams’ story is humbling, and it illustrates that no matter much talent one might have, it can slip away in a matter of minutes.
It is important for journalists to share the stories of people like Williams.
It reminds me of driving in Detroit and seeing panhandlers on the sides of the road. What are their stories? What did they do before they held signs asking for food and work?
Everyone has a story, and usually, it’s a lot more interesting than we assume.
Ted Williams reminds me not to be too quick to judge, even if a person is in rags on the side of the road.
Most people are not what they seem, and just like a book, you should not judge a person by his or her appearance.
