This morning I read the headline, "Homeless man with big voice headed to Big Apple". If you haven't heard or read about this story...
The morning couldn't have been more of a surprise for Ted Williams, the Columbus panhandler whose now-infamous "golden voice" became an Internet sensation yesterday - bringing with it scores of potential job offers for the homeless ex-radio disc jockey.
MTV. ESPN. The National Football League. West coast talent agents, voice coaches and syndicated talk shows.
Even the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly want to offer him a full-time announcing gig - and a house.
"I feel like Susan Boyle," said Williams. "Or Justin Bieber.
"It's almost choking me."
The once-messy-haired viral star, now sporting a new haircut and clean clothes, was all smiles during his coming-out party earlier today on the Morning Zoo program at WNCI (97.9 FM), which yesterday touted the video and used the help of a listener to locate Williams.
The Credit Union League of Ohio offered Williams a voice-over gig worth up to $10,000.
An offer for a Hawaiian trip came in. So did scores of interviews from across the globe.
Williams, 53, recorded in December by Dispatch videographer Doral Chenoweth III at a North Side off ramp while offering to demonstrate his pristine pipes for spare change, found millions of worldwide admirers after a Dispatch.com video became viral...
It's a nice story, no doubt, but it is a very troubling story too. You see, there is a rapidly growing number of homeless people and most people won't give them the time of day! Ted Williams may escape his situation ONLY because his voice has been commodified.
Now, let's juxtapose Williams' story with an incident that happened yesterday here in South Bend. I was at the local store and a few people were talking about an "incident" from the previous night. They were complaining about some transient.
"This woman was lugging around eight suitcases," one person said incredulously. "Eight suitcases!" I suggested that, maybe, this was all she had left in the world -- maybe she was trying to hang on to her meager possessions.
A few people nodded and granted that I might have a point there. One person though complained that the woman came into a store looking for hand-outs. "She was asking for free this and free that," he said disapprovingly.
What do you expect, I asked. She was probably hungry and there is a better than average chance she had little or no money. In order to survive, people need nourishment.
Again, some people begrudgingly accepted this point. "She wasn't very friendly!" snapped another person. Most of the people in the group agreed and it seemed to be their opinion that transients, in general, are surly and unpleasant people.
"Have you ever thought how rough her life must be?" I asked. "Imagine how you might comport yourself if you didn't know where your next meal would come from. Imagine if you had no roof over your head and you had to sleep outside in the elements. Imagine how you might feel if you knew that, everywhere you go, people look down on you because you're on the streets. You might not be so chipper under those circumstances."
In my view, what separates Ted Williams from this nameless woman is that Williams has something that can make other people money AND make them feel good about themselves. They can toot their horn as if to say, "See. I care about other people. I'm giving this fellow a second chance." But if Ted Williams had not exhibited his "golden voice," he would have been yet another faceless homeless person in the crowd that most people shun like the plague!!
Now, let's juxtapose Williams' story with an incident that happened yesterday here in South Bend. I was at the local store and a few people were talking about an "incident" from the previous night. They were complaining about some transient.
"This woman was lugging around eight suitcases," one person said incredulously. "Eight suitcases!" I suggested that, maybe, this was all she had left in the world -- maybe she was trying to hang on to her meager possessions.
A few people nodded and granted that I might have a point there. One person though complained that the woman came into a store looking for hand-outs. "She was asking for free this and free that," he said disapprovingly.
What do you expect, I asked. She was probably hungry and there is a better than average chance she had little or no money. In order to survive, people need nourishment.
Again, some people begrudgingly accepted this point. "She wasn't very friendly!" snapped another person. Most of the people in the group agreed and it seemed to be their opinion that transients, in general, are surly and unpleasant people.
"Have you ever thought how rough her life must be?" I asked. "Imagine how you might comport yourself if you didn't know where your next meal would come from. Imagine if you had no roof over your head and you had to sleep outside in the elements. Imagine how you might feel if you knew that, everywhere you go, people look down on you because you're on the streets. You might not be so chipper under those circumstances."
In my view, what separates Ted Williams from this nameless woman is that Williams has something that can make other people money AND make them feel good about themselves. They can toot their horn as if to say, "See. I care about other people. I'm giving this fellow a second chance." But if Ted Williams had not exhibited his "golden voice," he would have been yet another faceless homeless person in the crowd that most people shun like the plague!!
Here in 'merica, we know the dang-old bums done brought it on their selves with all their sinnin' an' low livin'. It's their own durn fault fer bein' poor, so they best not be askin' me fer no handouts, no sir! Get a job, is what I say!
ReplyDeletenot your main point, but the notion of talent not being recognized when it's out of context reminded me of this very well written and quite entertaining story:
ReplyDelete--------------------
Pearls Before Breakfast
By Gene Weingarten, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, April 8, 2007
No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made. His performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment in context, perception and priorities -- as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend? [....]
So, what do you think happened?
HANG ON, WE'LL GET YOU SOME EXPERT HELP.
Leonard Slatkin, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, was asked the same question. What did he think would occur, hypothetically, if one of the world's great violinists had performed incognito before a traveling rush-hour audience of 1,000-odd people?
"Let's assume," Slatkin said, "that he is not recognized and just taken for granted as a street musician . . . Still, I don't think that if he's really good, he's going to go unnoticed. He'd get a larger audience in Europe . . . but, okay, out of 1,000 people, my guess is there might be 35 or 40 who will recognize the quality for what it is. Maybe 75 to 100 will stop and spend some time listening."
So, a crowd would gather?
"Oh, yes."
And how much will he make?
"About $150."
Thanks, Maestro. As it happens, this is not hypothetical. It really happened.
"How'd I do?"
We'll tell you in a minute.
"Well, who was the musician?"
Joshua Bell.
"NO!!!"
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follow the link to read the whole story and see the video -- how it started, what happened, what the musician was thinking/feeling during the event, etc.
--sgl