"Yes," he says. She found the note three years ago, 10 years after he died, going through memorabilia. Her voice turned childlike whenever she spoke to him, a thin "Daddy." Claudia saw him first, and she and John-Henry dragged their father over.The fortune-teller sat on a low stool. Who's that?'. Finally Eric realized she needed to escape, so he put her in the back seat of his car, covered her with blankets and snuck her past the cameras. I got down to low and I got hit with small ground fire. John-Henry kept saying cryonics provided a chance for them all to be together again one day. About Albert M. Tapper Productions Terrified of Ted raging at them, John-Henry quietly fed her ice chips and got her ginger ale when she vomited from sun poisoning. I'm hurting. Thought he wasn't very good at it. "He never thought he was gonna be a good father," Claudia says. ", "I'm the one who reached down to keep pulling you up," Abel says, driving. Finally an email from Duke arrived asking her to log on to its website for the school's decision.She opened the link and started to read the letter. He should be cremated, his ashes "sprinkled at sea off the coast of Florida where the water is very deep. In public, Williams seemed to revel in the solitary pursuit of baseball greatness, then fishing greatness, but really, his lonely existence was self-imposed. At the end, jealous and estranged, Bobby-Jo raged, leaving bizarre voice mails on Abel's answering machine: "This is Barbara Joyce Ferrell. They sought out anything that might buy him more time -- no matter how experimental, unorthodox or just plain weird. Trouble is, nobody knew how to start to repair something so completely broken. Every now and again, she sighs. "She didn't like hot dogs, but she loved to see her father smile, so she ate them every time. Henry Leutwyler for ESPN MagazineHer husband, Eric Abel, comes home from running errands. Doctors gave her electroshock therapy. Claudia Williams is a reporter and producer for ABC News Digital. 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. Major Support for American Masters provided by. I'm hurting. Months passed, and after trying every other option available to buy time, only surgery would help Ted. 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? Everybody's against me. With Ted's remains in stasis -- they didn't hold a memorial service, not even a small, private one -- she hasn't moved past grief into acceptance and peace. "I mean, he had [me] at 53 years old," Claudia says, her voice wavering. When the boat docked back at Pier 39, they walked down the boards looking for dinner. OL' TED WILLIAMS, HUH? His flies are safe too, and she can see his hands in the bend of the knots. 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. First, he needed a heart catheterization, and doctors worried he might not survive even that preliminary procedure. CLAUDIA GRINNED WHEN I walked back into her house the day after she was accepted to Duke. she says, sounding vulnerable and shaky, like she's grasping for something beyond not only her reach but even her ability to name it. Now, they are on the frontline of Putins war in Ukraine. With time, she's come to regret not having a funeral. She keeps many things locked away. It is named Crusoe, and as the movie ended, Eric's girls looked over and saw Claudia weeping, shoulders rocking up and down, distraught over the boy taking the dragon out to sea. or. She also has considered using her egg and Abel's sperm to create a child, going back and forth between the ideas. "Normally he's not keen on the idea. Everything about him is interesting in this gnarled, difficult way. Michael Kantor and Albert M. Tapper are executive producers. Whenever she lets herself go back, she ends up at the same place: the beginning. The most important thing he read was the origin text of cryonics, a book by science fiction writer and professor Robert Ettinger titled The Prospect of Immortality. At Ted's request, Abel wrote her out of the will, and Abel said over the nine years he spent around Williams, he heard him mention Bobby-Jo maybe three times, and every time he called her a "f---ing syphilitic c---. John-Henry and Claudia cared for him every day, and every day they discovered new levels of understanding and knowledge. Her dream was to attend Middlebury College in Vermont. In this stubbornness, she found the emotional stability sought but never discovered by her brother, who died 11 years ago from leukemia. Nobody quoted is without an agenda, whether fueled by anger, misunderstanding, jealousy or love. "That's still something, right, on the table that you and I might do?" Days passed without her manic exercise routine, which she used to exhaust herself into a kind of peace. Near the safe in his old house is a note Ted saved, dated Dec. 10, 1983, when Claudia was 12. Becoming a man in his father's eyes? They tried bee pollen and acupuncture and hired a therapist to work through his anger. In her book, Claudia writes what her father told the doctor. Claudia Williams's Phone Number and Email. She screamed at them in the blood lab. It was the first and only time she has prayed. She asked for money and begged for help. In letters home, she described being adrift, telling her dad she felt "like a lost athlete looking for a sport." He really tried. ""Just tell me you love me," she said. In those last years, she taught him how to be a father to a daughter. Instead, she sat in her car in the parking lot, stewing, wondering whether he just wanted to show off "Ted's daughter," and finally she drove away, enraged, leaving the fins behind.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. Ellen DeGeneres has been one of the biggest stars on US television. "The legacy deserves to go on," she says finally, crying harder than before. 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. 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 . 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. Her workout routines -- miles in a pool and on a treadmill, hours daily in a gym -- break the alpha dogs who try to hang with Ted's daughter. I live right behind you. she sobs.There is a possibility.Before John-Henry died, he froze some of his sperm, and as executor, she controls it. 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. He preferred to spend offseasons in the woods or on the water. she said, and John-Henry argued some more. "You gotta watch for him!". she cries.He presses hard on the brakes, and she gets out. PBS station members can view many series, documentaries and specials via PBS Passport. she replied.Ted talked with Bobby-Jo moments later. by Wright Thompson, Amid the absurdity and violence orbiting around him, Manny Pacquiao is the consummate showman whose desire is to entertain, often at any cost. NINE MONTHS AFTER that trip, he had a stroke. "You have to have a child," he told her. That was 13 years ago, and while people still remember something about Ted's head being frozen, the daily onslaught is over. Were going to kick off the new year by predicting what we think might happen in 2023. His old leather suitcase is there too, in its final resting place after years of trains, ballparks and hotel rooms.GalleryWhat Ted Left BehindTed Williams' daughter Claudia Williams shares some of her father's favorite treasures -- from baseball memorabilia to fishing gear. Always scared of being abandoned, he fit a dog harness on a long leash and tied Bangor to his bed. Every patient who walked through the door would get treated like Ted Williams. This is a great project that really looked at his whole life and Im proud to be a part of it.. ""I was told it was a cold and overcast day," she said, then did something she never does. After Ted died, friends told reporters that Williams disagreed with his son's obsession. It was everything against his grain to succumb to this outside influence of children. MARVIN KONER/GLOBE PHOTOS/ZUMA PRESS. Tears roll down her cheeks. On the day his only son, John-Henry, was born, Ted was salmon fishing in Canada. "I don't think [Ted] at the end of his life felt like he accomplished anything.- Eric AbelThe house is empty inside, dangling wires and pencil marks on the walls indicating where a range will go. A strange family, to be sure, but a family nonetheless, with a patriarch who'd found escape from his guilt and his shame in the company of his children. Father and son had epic fights, bad enough that the caretakers called protective services. ""Who knows what the future will bring?" 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. by Tim Keown, May 2 fight will seal Mayweather's legacy. "Who's gonna take care of me?" She sighs hard; rattling almost, jagged on the edges, a noise so full of pain that people who hear it feel compelled to protect her. The renovations on Ted's house are complete. Her dream was to attend Middlebury College in Vermont. She's searching for a way to break the Williams cycle -- either by letting it die with her or by being the first good parent in generations -- and she's searching for something much more elusive too. She especially loves movies about dragons. If they bit him, he'd tap their beaks to scold them, as if they loved him with the same intellectual fervor he loved them. Just horrible guilt. Read More. When I walked into the house, there'd be a hot dog on the table. He tore them into pieces and threw the pieces away. Ted did not want to be frozen at first. Eric rushed home and found her sitting at the computer, quiet and solemn, validated for perhaps the first time in her life. At the end, jealous and estranged, Bobby-Jo raged, leaving bizarre voice mails on Abel's answering machine: "This is Barbara Joyce Ferrell. "I was there at Fenway Park when Ted Williams hit his last home run," he said. She's searching for how to say goodbye, or maybe a way to move on, which often feels like the same thing. Claudia, a nurse, listens to the plodding thumps of a tired heart. Thousands of children were separated from their parents at the US border under the Trump administrations zero tolerance policy. "Do you think they accepted me because of Dad?" 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. "Grief is weird," Claudia says, riding at night through the dark neighborhoods around their house. What happened? She asked God to take her instead. Around the long kitchen table, John-Henry began to make his case. One night, Ted looked at Claudia and asked, "Are you in on this too? Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, Judith and Burton Resnick, Seton J. Melvin, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, The Ambrose Monell Foundation, Lillian Goldman Programming Endowment, Vital Projects Fund, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus, The Andr and Elizabeth Kertsz Foundation, Koo and Patricia Yuen, Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, The Marc Haas Foundation and public television viewers. Pressure is growing on Israel and Hamas to announce a ceasefire. "I've had a great life, and what the hell, if I die, maybe I'll die on the table. She is laughing in the kitchen, a lazy Sunday morning. Nobody is unaffected. Henry Leutwyler for ESPN Magazine, Her husband, Eric Abel, comes home from running errands. 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. 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. Get in touch at claudia.williams@theadvocate.com.au or on 0448 310 641. She and her brother saw the house on Utah Street. 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. One afternoon, she gets a frantic phone call and rushes to her mom's bedside less than a mile away. He asked her what she wanted as a gift, and she said she wanted time. ", "I'm not taking this s---," Ted would growl, seething. Sitting on her couch, she cries when the dragon saves the little boy. In big letters, he wrote "Make Claudia co-petitioner" and circled it. They tried to understand his rages, and why they'd even been born. He'd been raised by an erratic and absent mother. "Please don't be mad," she said. And will it stick? Doctors gave her electroshock therapy. MLB remains committed to making an impact in the communities of the U.S., Canada and throughout the world, perpetuating the sports larger role in society and permeating every facet of baseballs business, marketing and community relations endeavors. Whenever she lets herself go back, she ends up at the same place: the beginning. Time frayed the threads, pulled apart seams, and years ago the shirt went into a safe. . "You should look at the lyrics," she says as the stereo plays. he yelled. Email. YOU WANNA 'NOTHER ONE?". It is really, really difficult to be the queen on the chessboard. Three dads came together this year in the saddest of circumstances; they all had daughters whod taken their own lives. See Photos. He should be cremated, his ashes "sprinkled at sea off the coast of Florida where the water is very deep.". "Dad, you have to take this medicine," John-Henry would be saying. She trained for a triathlon and then devoted her life to making the 2000 Olympic team, falling just short. 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. If people do know, she tests them constantly, to make sure they don't like her for her dad's name. He protected Claudia too. "Mom, you want to go to the hospital?" FacebookTwitterWhatsappEmailClaudia Williams is a journalist for The Advocate covering general news and events. To receive the best Tortoise experience possible, please make sure any blockers are switched off and refresh the page. She never held a job. Other times he'd listen.These private discussions would eventually become public, fitting into an existing narrative. About once a year, Abel would get called to the house to mediate a bizarre dispute, usually about Ted showering to ward off infection, or taking his medicine regularly. All they had was each other, and both longed to decode their dad, and maybe find themselves in the process. Articles by Claudia Williams on Muck Rack. Who decides if the NHS can afford it? John-Henry looks over a special edition of Boston Red Sox Monopoly with his father in 2000, two years before Ted's death. 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. Russia says 63 soldiers were killed in a missile attack Ukraine says 400. Who's telling the truth? The songs bleed together into a singular anthem of loneliness and loss. "You have heavy burdens you're still carrying," he said. Seeking more fulfillment, I . The child could start a new future for the Williams family, built on love, or become a casualty of the cycle that shaped Claudia's life, and her father's life before that. The decision to sack 800 staff via Zoom and replace them with cheaper agency workers seemed to surprise many. The wires and the hoses and the sawdust on the floor amplify how much those memories have faded. Find Claudia Williams's email address, contact information, LinkedIn, Twitter, other social media and more. When the premier of the British Virgin Islands was arrested in a drugs sting in Miami, what did British government officials know about the operation? Sections Ags Network. I love you. Tel. They visited Alcatraz, and Ted used a Walkman for the first time, befuddled by the technology, and they all laughed. He wasn'''t the kind of person that would go, oh, I'''m sorry, come here I'''ll give you a hug. Continue reading Queensland salutes JT . he yelled. By 1979, when they were 10 and 7, he practically gushed in his upright, loopy handwriting. "He needed him so badly. I can tell.". There is only one picture of John-Henry in her house. It makes me angry, of course. In big letters, he wrote "Make Claudia co-petitioner" and circled it. He opens it on the kitchen counter, the pages full of his notes, some passages marked with a check if he feels they're accurate, other quotes highlighted and some with sharp, angry pen strokes when he's aggrieved, the margins littered with "not true" and "bulls---" and "lie." John-Henry died on a Saturday, and as he requested, his body was suspended at Alcor too, in the same tank as his dad. "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.". Claudia and her brother, John-Henry, supported cryonics; older half-sister Bobby-Jo wanted her father cremated and sued her siblings in the courts and fought them in the media. "You could see an internal struggle," Abel says. 10 pounds. Both would sign it, and the crisis would be averted. Her brother lobbed one wild, but Claudia kicked her leg and delivered a strike. OL' TED WILLIAMS!" ", "JESUS CHRIST!" It's a contract she wrote -- the Williams family loves handwritten contracts -- with her mother at a . The US snow crab harvest has been cancelled after billions of them went missing from the waters around Alaska. Liz Truss will go down in history as Britains shortest serving prime minister. First they were known as the little green men, an anonymous private Russian force appearing first in Crimea, then Syria, then in central Africa. Through Passport, station members can stream new and archival programming anytime, anywhere. "Right from the start, we knew we weren't gonna have much time, you know? What a great hitter. 9 closing behind them. What does her story tell us about pop culture in 2021? Watch Read Listen Thursday 12 November 2020 17:00-18:00 GMT She was trapped in his house by television trucks and reporters shouting questions. She got it as a gift. "Did you see the frog?" "He never thought he was gonna be a good father," Claudia says. "But he is interested. 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.Just months before his death, Williams makes an unannounced appearance at the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame. ", Even now, Abel laughs about the scene he'd find upon entering the house. Claudia and Eric are moving back into Ted's old house, not wanting to sell it and not wealthy enough to maintain two homes. Today Claudia and husband Eric are looking at options to carry on her father's legacy. She's the only thing I have left.". Continue reading Brisbane Advance to GO! , As published for the West End Magazine in print and online.