The gravelly voice on the other end of the phone was unmistakable.
The news he shared shook me.
For 30 years, Wayne Turner’s booming delivery rang out to dictate the tone at which the Tyner Academy football team competed. On the practice field, the chirp of a whistle wasn’t needed to stop everyone in their tracks. Once Turner began roaring direction, every head turned toward him with undivided attention.
Even when handing out hard-earned praise or sharing a lighthearted moment, Turner’s tenor was typically more matter of fact than mellow.
So when the old-school coach spoke about the formidable foe he’s now facing, it wasn’t a surprise that he got straight to the point. The heaviness of his words — bone cancer, stage 4 — pulverized the mood of the conversation.