Page 14 - kappbook2020

GOODBYE, COACH I 281

been a horrific nightmare. Watching his body deteriorate under can-
cer's inexorable assault, seeing his strength sapped, hearing his voice
weaken. But today there was renewed vigor in his words. His power
was back. There was life in the sound filling my ears, and I wanted
more. I closed my eyes and silently listened.
"You fought for me this past year. I appreciate that," he said warmly,
with genuine sincerity. "But even the game oflife has an end." He said
this matter-of-factly, the same way he used to explain how to read
a defensive safety's coverage. With pride, he added, "We played our
best."

Strangely, I wasn't feeling sad anymore, even though Coach Lewis's
words had such finality. It was the absence of his recent pain in his
voice. It was the presence of his old strength. "There's so much I want
to ask you, Coach Lewis," I said, anxious to speak before he had to
go. "I tried to discuss some of them with you this past year, but the
strength was missing from our talks. I came to visit you armed with
my usual energy, hoping to share it with you to make you better, but
as soon as we shook hands, I could feel the force of your spirit flowing
into my arm and body. It was supposed to be the other way around;
the flow should have been in your direction. You were supposed to
take for once, not always be the one to give."
In a low, mentoring voice, Coach Lewis reminded me, "Joe, the
harmony of balance and nature is a circle of giving and receiving. You
learned to trust your offensive line to block, your ends to get open
and catch the ball when you threw it, and yourself to be able to get
the pass off. Didn't you find that the harder you worked, the more you
gave to your teammates, the more you got back in return?" he asked.
"When you've lived your whole life getting the best out of people by

giving them your best, it's impossible to stop just because you've got
less to give," he explained, almost chuckling.
It may have been due to the rarefied air at that altitude, but I com-
pletely understood, maybe for the first time, why it's so important to