As our headline in Wednesday's front page proclaimed, "A new era begins."

The reference was to the swearing in of the new class of state representatives, including Carbon County's Doyle Heffley, who is succeeding Rep. Keith McCall. It could also apply to the hope many of us hold for 2011.Comeback stories in all walks of life are always inspiring. Heffley's is a good example, since he bounced back from political defeat in 2008 to win his seat in the House of Representatives.Athletes who revive their careers are also inspiring. In recent years, grizzled veterans like Brett Favre in football and Jamie Moyer in baseball have become bulletin board material for middle aged men everywhere.This season's comeback story in pro football has been Michael Vick, who has come back from serving prison time for a dog fighting conviction to revive his athletic career, leading the Philadelphia Eagles into the playoffs with an extraordinary season. Even the president of the United States called Eagles' owner Jeffrey Lurie to praise the Eagles for giving Vick a second chance in life.No matter how one feels about Vick - his criminal participation in dogfighting was a dispicable act - he did pay a debt to society and now appears to have regained his feet. He has become a leading spokesperson about dogfighting and animal cruelty. After his prison experience, Vick has been able to bring as much attention to animal cruelty as anyone could have hoped.Speaking of comebacks in life, the best story to come along in this new year is about a homeless man named Ted Williams from Columbus, Ohio. Drug and alcohol problems brought down the radio career of the 53-year-old Brooklyn native, forcing him into a life on the streets where he panhandled for money. Earlier this week he could be seen holding his hand-written sign along a Columbus Freeway.The sign, mentioning his radio career, caught the attention of the Columbus Dispatch, which posted a video of Williams speaking in his deep radio voice on its website. The response to Williams and his golden pipes has been incredible.Since Tuesday, the video clip received over 5.4 million hits and within a day, Williams had to hire an agent to field the number of job offers and requests from the media that were pouring his way.Clean and sober for the last two years, the man who was homeless only days ago has become an overnight sensation. Even pro sports teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA, and NFL Films, are anxious to hire the man with the strong baratone voice.Although overwhelmed by the attention, Williams seems to have his feet firmly planted in the things that matter in life. After appearances on the TV talk show circuit, he plans to get back to Brooklyn to look up his 92-year-old mother, who was vigilant to pray for him during his struggling years on the street as a homeless man.Judging from the surge of success Williams has seen in just the last two days, it appears as if his mother's strong faith has paid off.There's a verse in Matthew 5:15 that tells about a person not hiding his light (talents or abilities) under a bushel. Ted Williams has been given a second chance to exercise his talents for the new year.By Jim Zbickjzbick@tnonline.com