May 15, 1989

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COLUMN

John Turner: a man out of time

One of the most interesting things John Turner ever said was a supposed joke that in fact was a description of himself. “The definition of a Rhodes Scholar,” he told a friend one day, “is someone whose future is behind him.” It wasn’t an original line; some forgotten wit first coined the phrase (which has a lot of validity), but it was somewhat strange that Rhodes Scholar Turner would be quoting it rather than some enemy of his. By Allan Fotheringham4 min