To the editor:
William Shakespeare and Jeremy Pruitt were cut from the same cloth. Both came from country seed. Both had small town roots. Both spoke a version of English. One spoke clear, plain, simple, Bible-direct. One spoke less simple. Neither knew the words to “Rocky Top.”
One favored word play and sword play. One favored team play. Both had vocal pets: “aight” and “hark.” One had a windy habit. One left big people bent, winded and exploring shade. One favored the run, one passed on the subject. Both were family and flag-proud. Both were engaged…to a career. One worshiped, one worshiped himself. Both had a stable of birthdays and anniversaries to forget.
Subordinates prevented red-faced memory loss. Both had bear schedules that outgrew the calendar. Both had the energy of a Jack Russell. Both slept by accident. One was born to write, one was born to get it right. Both had a bucket list deeper than Morgan and Jack. One dressed like a linebacker in pads and a neck brace. One dressed for the occasion. One wore a white cap with an orange “T.” One dreaded “bed head” like the plaque.
One was ghost-white, one wore orange and white. Both had a case of scalp erosion. One had chin bark, one had a mean bark. Both were specialists. Both were “playboys” with a bull playbook. One acted, one acted normal. One was a groomed hippie, one shot from the hip. Both raised players from a different mother.
To those with concerns, neither were ever ignored or unemployed. Both had mile-high credentials. So, what separates these dinosaurs? In clean, plain, simple, Bible-direct English: Man is measured not by length, but by depth. In a famous address of Lincoln we learned two lessons: say and sit. A man of selective speech relieves an audience. The object is not to put them to sleep but to wake them up. An attention span has a short life. Keep the message petite. If you failed to listen, you missed a dandy speech.
The “ball coach” is what he is, and he is where he belongs: on our side of the field.

Glen Estep
Knoxville
(Has Elizabethton connections)