Doctors told her there's enough genetic material for one chance at insemination, and as long as it remains frozen, some part of her brother, and her father, remains alive with it. "Now she just needed to get into a graduate program, do years of studying and open her own nurse practitioner's office. Something happened to Ted Williams' face when he laughed; most pictures show him stern, in concentration, but when he giggled, his jowls would hang and his eyes would squint and he looked, for just a moment, nothing like one of the most famous men in America. Ted Williams left behind so many unanswered questions that two of his children went to the extreme edges of science to find more time for them to be answered, while his third child went to equal extremes to stop them. "She didn't like hot dogs, but she loved to see her father smile, so she ate them every time. Terrified of Ted raging at them, John-Henry quietly fed her ice chips and got her ginger ale when she vomited from sun poisoning. That was 1961, and he never wanted family to hurt him again. Once, when Abel was flying to San Diego to meet with the Upper Deck baseball card company, Ted pulled him aside. His lifelong feud with the press began when a writer asked rhetorically in a column what kind of boy didn't go home in the winter to visit his mother. The anger that dominated both their lives started there, on those lonely evenings outside 4121 Utah St., waiting for their mom to come home. When you laugh -- ". Claudia Williams is a journalist for The Advocate covering general news and events. He refused, over and over again, never feeling as if he belonged in a place with such educated people. by Pablo S. Torre, Impossible to hit, even harder to defend, Floyd Mayweather is fighting to leave the ring the way he entered it: Standing. "You gotta watch for him!". The lessons that he had to teach us, we didn't have the time to learn. He traced his finger over the old man's wrinkled palm. All they had was each other, and both longed to decode their dad, and maybe find themselves in the process. How many children are strip-searched by the police and who are they? It was the first and only time she has prayed. Support for Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived is provided by Harvey and Andrea Rosenthal and the Michael and Helen Schaffer Foundation. They spent hours at that table, talking, playing the games he never got to play as a kid -- As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives -- and debating religion and the nature of life and death. c***@southburnetttimes.com.au. She didn't want to waste another moment. What caused them to vanish? For years, she'd thought her father had stopped maturing when he became famous at 20, and now they'd both reached his emotional age, equals and running buddies for the first time. John-Henry snapped photos, forever documenting every moment he spent around his dad. Single-use vapes are increasingly popular with young people. What will it take to fix a broken system? When she sees him, she stretches out her arms. Claudia still remembers Bangor the Cat. The live-in caretaker is crying. Everyone settles in, and the movie starts. She cooked hot dogs in a gypsy circus. by Tim Keown, May 2 fight will seal Mayweather's legacy. "Please don't be mad," she said. Finally she said yes. He signed the rest, and the whole box went into storage. BEFORE CLAUDIA DROVE me back to the airport, Abel quietly asked me to keep in touch because she didn't meet many new people and really struggled with goodbyes. That was 13 years ago, and while people still remember something about Ted's head being frozen, the daily onslaught is over. Eric rushed home and found her sitting at the computer, quiet and solemn, validated for perhaps the first time in her life. She's young because her dad was much older than her mom -- Ted, the eternal player, tossed Dolores Wettach a note across the first-class cabin of an international flight, introducing himself simply as a fisherman -- starting Claudia's lifelong struggle to hold tight to something slipping between her fingers. Her voice turned childlike whenever she spoke to him, a thin "Daddy." She asked for money and begged for help. Ted's health declined, more every day. She especially loves movies about dragons. She entered a psych ward, which he paid for, and got an abortion, which he paid for, and when her scars taunted him -- physical proof that he'd become his mother -- he paid for plastic surgery too. He preferred to spend offseasons in the woods or on the water. "Just a part of the collection of artifacts fills a storage room to its 10-foot ceiling. She felt time rushing away.The last two weeks before finding out, she swam miles in the pool and pounded out sets in the gym. He knew he might not live through his procedure, and at the end of his life, he'd finally put aside his own wishes for theirs. With time, she's come to regret not having a funeral. A Louisville Slugger leaned in the same cabinet as Toothless the Dragon, the first bit of baseball memorabilia in the living room. Every day, she drives on Ted Williams Memorial Parkway. As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work. SHE IS HIDING from loss, and from regret, hiding from her family's past, which is always operating the strings of her daily life. The argument remains frustrating for everyone: Claudia can't prove they followed her father's wishes, and Bradlee can't prove they didn't. Now the country is wondering if the price has been too high. It might have changed their lives. . Contact Number She threw plates and knives. Back at home, all of it piles up, hurt stacked upon hurt, so what started as sadness about her mom became fear and desperation over the family coming to an end with her, and she's just dissolving in her high-ceilinged kitchen, coming apart. Investigators came to the house and interviewed both men, asking whether Ted was being made to sign autographs against his will, before determining there was no abuse. The three of them flew together to San Diego and drove up the Pacific Coast. Those memories, and the reaction of the elderly readers, finally pointed her toward her long-sought purpose. "Just please listen to me. A MILE AWAY, a secret remains locked in one of Ted Williams' safes. He's everywhere. I wanna say no so goddamn bad. Days passed without her manic exercise routine, which she used to exhaust herself into a kind of peace. Engage via Email. Tel. Ted Williams' mother gave him nothing but a name, and as soon as he grew old enough, he gave it back, changing Teddy on his birth certificate to the more respectable Theodore. Once one of college basketball's brightest coaches, Jason Rabedeaux died mysteriously in Saigon, leaving his loved ones and colleagues to grapple with how far he'd fallen. "You are our voice," it said.Seeing the joy she brought to the elderly, long her favorite group of people, reminded her of an old man she treated as a student nurse. She screamed at them in the blood lab. @claudiawilliams. Her co-workers at the Crystal River, Florida, medical center where she's a nurse are only now finding out on their own. "The doctor nodded and scheduled the surgery. Is there such a thing as a normal family? Kamila Valievas Olympic doping scandal has made headlines around the world. To the public, he was a success, but to himself, he was a failure, consumed with shame and regret. May 4, 2014, 12:07 a.m. Claudia Willams. Other times he'd listen.These private discussions would eventually become public, fitting into an existing narrative. The dining table used to be there, by the window. Bradlee's book strongly suggests, without ever saying so directly, that she was lying about being there. NINE MONTHS AFTER that trip, he had a stroke. His remains were sent to a cryonics lab in Arizona where they remain to . As she parks her car and goes into the house, she's deciding whether to share an idea that has been gaining momentum and fervor. "Still do. She found the note three years ago, 10 years after he died, going through memorabilia. How canwe know what really happened? Doctors diagnosed manic depression, and she moved from booze to pills, cheating on her husband with the neighbor and giving herself another abortion with drugs and alcohol. "The vulnerability of having love for your children. "I'm down to one pack a day," she said. Lives in East Palo Alto, California. He said in order to hit 400 he says you gotta be loose. He never lost his temper or spun off in a rage. HENRY LEUTWYLERCLAUDIA WILLIAMS, NOW 43, rarely tells anyone about her relation to Ted Williams. But you wouldnt have blamed the prime minister if she was after her new chancellor dismantled the mini budget and with it, her political project. "We might do that?". Standing around the kitchen, she and Eric told the story of what happened when she opened her letter. He really tried. I wanna say no so goddamn bad. "Who's gonna take care of me?" Windalco, +1 more Claudia Williams Building the nation's health infrastructure Oakland, CA. Claudia Williams Reporter "Tortoise gives me time to dig deeper into stories and prioritise voices that are often ignored." I first joined Tortoise as part of the Sensemaker team, and before that worked at the New York Times and The Week magazine. Thought he wasn't very good at it. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. When he was an old man, Harvard begged him to come and receive an honorary degree. As published for the West End Magazine online. "They spent hours around the dining table, and every so often John-Henry would bring it up. "You were sobbing," says Eric's daughter Emma, now 22, grinning as she tells the story. He loved anything small and weak. She keeps many things locked away. Major League Baseball (MLB) is the most historic professional sports league in the United States and consists of 30 member clubs in the U.S. and Canada, representing the highest level of professional baseball. If you are a whistleblower, believe you have sensitive information that should be made public, or wish to protect your identity, find our more secure options. The only thing left is a frayed set of Ted's beloved Encyclopedia Britannica, which he bought after retiring, spending hours scouring them for the knowledge he felt ashamed not to have. MARVIN KONER/GLOBE PHOTOS/ZUMA PRESSSHE HAS LOST her father to old age and her brother to leukemia. The documentary explores not only the Baseball Hall of Famers remarkable on-field accomplishments but also his complicated relationships with his family, teammates, press, fans and himself. Everybody's against me. Her brother lobbed one wild, but Claudia kicked her leg and delivered a strike. Nearby, pocketknives rust at their hinges. The tragic case of Alberta Williams - The Chronicle His mother, May, was obsessed with her work at the Salvation Army, abandoning her own kids, and the descriptions of his lonely life exist in many accounts, most notably biographies by Ben Bradlee Jr. and Leigh Montville. She was trapped in his house by television trucks and reporters shouting questions. The WNET Group creates inspiring media content and meaningful experiences for diverse audiences nationwide. "It's time to let them go. Ted, exhausted and struggling to keep his eyes open, sort of laughed, then his son helped him to the recliner where he slept. Everything about me says no. "Hi, Daddy," she said. The children created their own world, and only they understand what it felt like to live in it. Ted laughed and made a joke about it feeling good, and the inside of his hand was soft, the calluses he cultivated during baseball long gone smooth. Pressure is growing on Israel and Hamas to announce a ceasefire. Ted Williams was a fascinating, complicated man and this film really covers all the issues he was dealing with on top of baseball, said David Ortiz, the recently retired Boston Red Sox 10-time All-Star and executive producer for Big Papi Productions. Claudia Williams - Journalist - Courier-Mail | ZoomInfo I love you. He signed for millions. ", He called Claudia a "c---" too, and a "fat bitch," and told John-Henry he was the "abortion I wanted." He wasn't angry, and they weren't scared. Matthew dAncona pieces together what happened. "She's tired. Listen online, no signup necessary. He hid in the hyperfocus required by baseball and fishing; most nights after ballgames, he returned to the hotel where he lived -- he never purchased a home in Boston -- and tied fishing flies alone. The songs bleed together into a singular anthem of loneliness and loss. Through never-before-seen archival footage and in-depth interviews with those who knew and studied Williams, including his daughter Claudia Williams, author/journalist Ben Bradlee, Jr., veteran . "We might?" She got lost in thought, staring down at the tiny home plate, feeling a strange connection. "He needed him so badly. He smiled, and seemed lighter. But is it enough? Claudia Williams | Speakers Bureau and Booking Agency Claudia remembers growing up with a mother increasingly bitter over her failed love affair, on a Vermont farm without a television, isolated by their environment and the fame of their absent father. Reminders of grief surround her, and now her mother is fading too. This is what Claudia Williams told the CBC's investigative reporter Connie Walker in an eight- part podcast called "The Tip" about the night her sister Alberta Williams disappeared nearly 3 decades ago. Soon Ted gave them praise that would never reach their ears. She says Ted sighed, agreed to go along with their wishes and signed a piece of paper agreeing to be frozen. "He never thought he was gonna be a good father," Claudia says. The idea is strange, yet mechanically quite simple: She'd need a surrogate mother and a name. An agnostic, she stopped in a church near the Los Angeles hospital and got on her knees and begged. "I surpassed John-Henry quicker because I got away," she says. Best Claudia Williams Podcasts (2023) - player.fm The three of them flew together to San Diego and drove up the Pacific Coast. Abel goes into the study and comes back with the book. "He needed him so badly. He felt a vulnerability he never had in his life.- Claudia WilliamsLess than a year later, Ted sat before a stack of posters, doing one of the bulk signings familiar to all famous athletes. "You won't always be there to protect him," a character in the movie tells the father, and Claudia smiles, turns to Eric and says, "John-Henry would've loved this movie.". "I was there at Fenway Park when Ted Williams hit his last home run," he said. The outside world slipped away, and the universe shrank to the three of them: a dad looking for absolution, a son who needed a dad to show him how to be a man, a daughter who'd always craved a family, which they at long last became. Ted laughed and made a joke about it feeling good, and the inside of his hand was soft, the calluses he cultivated during baseball long gone smooth. Ted's white Sub-Zero fridge with the wood-paneled front is unplugged in the corner. There was not that big a crowd that day, only about 10,000 but they were all standing and you knew what they wanted and can you deliver in that situation? John-Henry Williams, a 6-foot-5 ringer for his handsome father, had long lived in the zeitgeist as a bumbling son who took and took without ever standing on his own. ", "JESUS CHRIST!" Before John-Henry died, he froze some of his sperm, and as executor, she controls it. In those last years, she taught him how to be a father to a daughter. Connie Walker's investigation into Alberta's death started with an email from retired RCMP officer Garry Kerr who was initially . Now she just needed to get into a graduate program, do years of studying and open her own nurse practitioner's office. Even in her moment of triumph, something worried her, a neurotic fear. This will be my monument / This will be a beacon when I'm gone / You're everywhere I go / I promise I won't let you down / It's not over, not over / Not over, not over, yet. He worried about his son. "First of all, Claudia," he says slowly, "let me apologize; I don't know what we've done with that shirt.". They sought out anything that might buy him more time -- no matter how experimental, unorthodox or just plain weird. It began with Claudia. He had a cousin who was murdered by her husband, and a criminal brother who died young and angry. Even in her moment of triumph, something worried her, a neurotic fear. Nobody is clean. He needed more time. OL' TED WILLIAMS!" In honor of the centennial of Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams, American Masters presents a new biography of the Boston Red Sox player who may have been the greatest hitter who ever lived. She is laughing in the kitchen, a lazy Sunday morning. "Then John-Henry read a book about cryonics. With just days to go before kick-off, Qatar banned beer from its World Cup stadiums. Claudia Williams's Phone Number and Email. Ransomware attacks taking over computer networks and blackmailing their owners has become huge business. OL' TED WILLIAMS!" "He called Claudia a "c---" too, and a "fat bitch," and told John-Henry he was the "abortion I wanted." "I love you more than you'll ever know. Who's that?'. Prepare thyself, sir. Thought he wasn't very good at it. During storms, driving up the hill toward their house in Vermont, he'd jump out of the car in the pouring rain, trying to get the frogs to move before they died beneath the wheels of the car. He'd be waiting for me right here. This will be my monument / This will be a beacon when I'm gone / You're everywhere I go / I promise I won't let you down / It's not over, not over / Not over, not over, yet. I said well if there'''s a goddam Christ, this is the time ol''' Teddy Ballgame needs ya. He throws 96. When the boat docked back at Pier 39, they walked down the boards looking for dinner. Every now and again, she sighs. She did an interview in the Fenway stands, sitting in the red seat marking the longest home run ever hit in the ballpark, off the bat of her dad. AP IMAGESA MILE AWAY, a secret remains locked in one of Ted Williams' safes.On a shelf above a Desert Eagle .44, his fishing logs tell a different story from the one he gave his fans and his children. She learned how to sky-dive, and after having to deploy the backup chute on her first solo jump, she went back up again: I'll show you, sky! When she was young, he got so mad at her that he spit a mouthful of food in her face. No one is laughing now, and Claudia reaches for Eric's hand from time to time. The youngest of 4 girls born into a traditional Italian-American family, my dad nicknamed me "Clyde" and taught me to fish and play golf. She learned how to sky-dive, and after having to deploy the backup chute on her first solo jump, she went back up again: I'll show you, sky! Why are the ages of three to five so crucial? Ted's old study would make a perfect nursery. "Are you still smoking?" OL' TED WILLIAMS, HUH? Articles by Claudia Williams's Profile | The Examiner, The Advocate He died in 2002 and is frozen at 7895 East Acoma Drive in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is her FATHER! Once, when Abel was flying to San Diego to meet with the Upper Deck baseball card company, Ted pulled him aside. Claudia tried to get him to release the cat, but he refused to listen.He protected Claudia too. CLAUDIA WILLIAMS FOUND comfort wearing her dad's favorite red flannel shirt. 1 prospect. Ettinger wrote that the freezer always trumped the grave, and with nothing to lose, why not take a chance? The house felt different than before, desolation replaced by hope. Every patient who walked through the door would get treated like Ted Williams. Today Claudia and husband Eric are looking at options to carry on her father's legacy. Trouble is, nobody knew how to start to repair something so completely broken. "I hate time," she says.She lives in a sprawling Florida community popular among retirees whose first resident and primary pitchman was her father. He longed to rewrite the facts of his life. HENRY LEUTWYLER. A young John-Henry poses with his father during Red Sox spring training. I think he hated that vulnerability of feeling guilt.". "I didn't want John-Henry to lose his father," she says. ", "I'm the one who reached down to keep pulling you up," Abel says, driving. Russia says 63 soldiers were killed in a missile attack Ukraine says 400. Who's telling the truth? On the living room cabinet, there's a ceramic statue of Toothless, the star of the animated movie How to Train Your Dragon. Nobody quoted is without an agenda, whether fueled by anger, misunderstanding, jealousy or love. Williams hits one of his career 521 home runs, shown here in the late '50s. He was a fantastic parent," Claudia Williams said. Soon she will face herself alone, as her father faced the world stripped of the soothing focus of baseball and fishing. Claudia tried to get him to release the cat, but he refused to listen. Then the Williams kicked in: She moved up the USTA ratings, 3.5 to 4.0, then, she says, she became the best 4.0 in Citrus County, then the top-ranked 4.0 player in the state. In the definitive biography of Ted Williams, by Ben Bradlee Jr., John-Henry is shown as a terrible businessman and a cheat, someone who lied so often -- inviting his dad to a college graduation where he didn't actually graduate, claiming to make his college baseball team when he never tried out -- that he lied about Ted's wanting to be frozen too. Champion netballer Laura Geitz is set to return to the court for the Queensland Firebirds in 2018. His old leather suitcase is there too, in its final resting place after years of trains, ballparks and hotel rooms. He never mentioned a pregnant Dolores, and he never mentioned the boy.To the public, he was a success, but to himself, he was a failure, consumed with shame and regret. It is really, really difficult to be the queen on the chessboard. "Daddy would sit right here," she says, laughing. They visited Alcatraz, and Ted used a Walkman for the first time, befuddled by the technology, and they all laughed. May Williams never saw her son play a major league game, even though she lived through his entire career. Former New York Times food journalist and #1 bestselling author Mark Bittman (How to Cook Everything, Eat Vegan Before 6:00) has a love for food and a passion for food issues. "My heart hurt," she says.That night, after Eric cooks steaks and Emma bakes sugar cookies, everyone piles onto the sofa for movie night. He really tried.John-Henry looks over a special edition of Boston Red Sox Monopoly with his father in 2000, two years before Ted's death. Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram to be reinstated, Netflix denies Squid Game injury claims. She got it as a gift. Claudia saw him first, and she and John-Henry dragged their father over.The fortune-teller sat on a low stool. Doctors told her there's enough genetic material for one chance at insemination, and as long as it remains frozen, some part of her brother, and her father, remains alive with it. Sections Ags Network. CLAUDIA WILLIAMS, NOW 43, rarely tells anyone about her relation to Ted Williams. That was three decades ago. "I was there at Fenway Park when Ted Williams hit his last home run," he said. Claudia is beautiful and familiar, her face a combination of her mother's Vogue model cheekbones and her father's all-American jaw. Does technology make interactions between parents and children better, or worse? Her brother lobbed one wild, but Claudia kicked her leg and delivered a strike. She also has considered using her egg and Abel's sperm to create a child, going back and forth between the ideas. Just months before his death, Williams makes an unannounced appearance at the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame. When she was young, he got so mad at her that he spit a mouthful of food in her face. She's searching, searching for a father, for a purpose, for a child, searching for the chance to complete what her dad started in the last decade of his life. His father drifted on the edge of it. Open in Who Shared Wrong byline? COLIN BRALEY/REUTERS/LANDOVThe clean cryonics narrative of Bradlee's book doesn't match the messiness of that long family dispute. "It was a bright, sunny day, and I was there.". "Daddy would be so proud," she said. He loves me, I love him. Continue reading Audio: Amherst 5-College International Festival , Examples of my work from presenting news and sport in studio, a photojournalism piece and reporting in the field. The reconsidered acceptance letter made her weep with rage because she knew what had happened. Upon occasion, she curses exactly like he did, stringing together blistering oaths, a kind of profane poetry: "that whore of a bitch f---ing c--- of a bimbo," say, of a nurse who spoke to reporters about the family. So, do I have a choice on January 26? On the living room cabinet, there's a ceramic statue of Toothless, the star of the animated movie How to Train Your Dragon. What happened? An experimental Alzheimers drug called lecanemab has been hailed as an historic breakthrough. Williams is such a part of baseball and Boston even today. "Dad, you have to take this medicine," John-Henry would be saying. Near the safe in his old house is a note Ted saved, dated Dec. 10, 1983, when Claudia was 12. About The WNET Group To her, the many accounts of Ted Williams are all fatally flawed because most people didn't understand that the two famous acts of his life -- ballplayer and fisherman -- occurred only because he was hiding from the third and final act of his life: fatherhood. By 1979, when they were 10 and 7, he practically gushed in his upright, loopy handwriting. It smelled like him. "Abel would write up a contract on a napkin or a piece of scratch paper, which is what Ted liked, and negotiate a settlement: Ted agreed to take the pills every day, and John-Henry agreed to let him shower only four times a week. John-Henry Williams, a 6-foot-5 ringer for his handsome father, had long lived in the zeitgeist as a bumbling son who took and took without ever standing on his own. Hello. Back at home, all of it piles up, hurt stacked upon hurt, so what started as sadness about her mom became fear and desperation over the family coming to an end with her, and she's just dissolving in her high-ceilinged kitchen, coming apart. After her father died, she received a sponsor's exemption to run the Boston Marathon in his memory; she turned it down, trained and ran fast enough to qualify on her own. Inspiring curiosity and nurturing dreams, The WNET Groups award-winning Kids Media and Education team produces the PBS KIDS series Cyberchase, interactive Mission US history games, and resources for families, teachers and caregivers. She asked God to take her instead. I can tell.". We're desperately trying -- I say 'we' like John-Henry's still around -- but we're desperately trying to figure out what made him tick. ", "Who knows what the future will bring?" "F--- you.". Bradlee spent a decade reporting, and while Claudia and Eric say he got many things about Ted's military and baseball careers right, they say he allowed unreliable people to give opinions couched as facts when discussing the inner workings of the Williams clan, which has forever been a complicated tribe in which truths are perceptions and history keeps repeating itself: Bobby-Jo died five years ago, of advanced liver disease, killed by the same bad habits as her mother. Can I choose to work on Australia Day or do I have to take the day off? "No," Dolores Williams says. He couldn't buy her peace. This is the story of how, five years later, 300 remain lost in a system designed to swallow them, Claudia Williams presents a special edition of the Slow Newscast on a newsletter that both reflected and reshaped celebrity culture. As part of her application and interview process at Duke -- still a long shot, but her dad taught her to try to be the greatest -- she said she wanted to specialize in gerontology. Articles by Claudia Williams's Profile | Medium, STAT, The Canberra "Do you think they accepted me because of Dad?" She makes them earn their story. You could see it just gnaw. How did we get here and what happens next? He'd been through the safes and the storage unit they keep filled to its 10-foot ceiling, hunting for the flannel shirt. By 1979, when they were 10 and 7, he practically gushed in his upright, loopy handwriting. Lives in Oakland, California. ""I'm the one who reached down to keep pulling you up," Abel says, driving. At Ted's place in Islamorada, in the Keys, she got a terrible sunburn. claudiawilliams (@claudiawilliams) / Twitter But there were signs of what was to come. She told Middlebury no. "The first seven years, any time I would have a break, any fun, one moment -- inevitably, guilt. she replied.Ted talked with Bobby-Jo moments later. Four years passed between John-Henry's purchasing the books and requesting membership documents from Alcor.