The Shadow
On Wednesday afternoon, November 22, Varsity football player, Purcel Turner surprised David Bryant, Director of Finance and Human Resources for the City of Covington, with a very special T-shirt. The T-shirt was awarded to Turner after he won “Player of the Week” in week one of football season. Upon receiving it, the first person he thought of was Cecil Bryant.
Cecil Bryant is someone Turner remembers fondly from his youth. As a little league football player, Purcel Turner was often greeted at the gate of Casey Field by Bryant, who welcomed all the players with the same warm smile, encouraging them all to do their best. After the game was over, Bryant kept his enthusiastic and good-natured spirit as the players would leave the field, smiling his best smile and telling them all how well they played. “Keep up the good work!” Bryant would say as he sometimes tapped on the players’ helmets when they walked by.
Purcel Turner often looks back at his years in little league and he can’t help but feel warm inside as he thinks about the man whose uplifting spirit always urged him to do his best on and off the field. After the passing of 84-year-old Cecil Bryant on August 19th of this year, Turner knew he wanted to do something special. He just wasn’t sure what. Then, on September 1, 2023, less than two weeks after the passing of Cecil Bryant, Purcel Turner was named the first-ever Alleghany Cougar “Player of the Week” by the Virginian Review after an online vote.
In that game, the very first Alleghany Cougar Varsity football game, Turner made history as the first AHS Cougar to score a touchdown when he turned the opening kickoff into a 95-yard run for 6 points. That, and several other amazing plays that game, led to Turner being nominated for “Player of the Week.” An online vote was held which ultimately led to Turner being named the first-ever Alleghany Cougar “Player of the Week.” Upon being awarded his T-shirt and seeing Cecil Bryant’s face in his mind, he knew right away what he wanted to do with the dark blue tee.
Rather than keep it, he began making plans to give it away: to David “B.B.” Bryant, the son of Cecil Bryant. The Virginian Review worked with Turner to have his jersey number (14) put on the back of the shirt with the name “C. Bryant” above it akin to a football jersey. He then made plans to surprise B.B. with the special-made shirt.
Nicole Turner reached out to me with a request to help her son, Purcel, surprise B.B. and I had to oblige. With Purcel’s schedule being as busy as it was, it took a couple of months to iron out the details, but then the plan was in motion. I enlisted the help of Linda Bogar, director of advertising with the Virginian Review and close friend to B.B., as my co-conspirator. Linda successfully convinced B.B. to come by our office at 1:00 p.m. with absolutely no idea why he was invited. Like all good friends, B.B. was willing to show up where he was needed, no questions asked.
About 15 minutes before B.B’s arrival, Purcel’s sister, Caprice Reynolds, brought her kind-hearted brother over to the Virginian Review building and hid in the office adjacent to my desk. Once B.B. came in the door, I greeted him and led him into Bogar’s office. There, Purcel was waiting with the T-shirt.
“I know your father was real big in Covington, always accepted us, and he was always there, so I wanted to contribute to him with this ‘Player of the Week’ shirt. This shirt has his name on the back,” Turner said as he held the shirt up, then rotated it around, revealing “C. Bryant” with the number 14 beneath it.
Afterwards, Turner and Bryant shared a heartfelt embrace as tears were shed throughout our office, all of us touched by the meaningful gesture. “Stay on the high road,” B.B. said, patting Turner on the back after he thanked him. I couldn’t help but think how much B.B. was like his dad in that moment, always encouraging the kids with a kind word. Following their brief visit in Bogar’s office, B.B. and Purcel stepped into our lobby for a photo.
As the small group exited, I took a deep breath in, overwhelmed by the kindness of the human spirit. My eyes were suddenly unable to hold back the wave of emotion which suddenly overtook me as I watched, tears flowing down, young Turner make his way back to his sister’s car.
We could all learn a little something from the Purcel Turners of the world. Not only is he an asset on the field, but he has a heart of gold the moment he steps off of it.
