A raspy voice came over the squawk box announcing the arrival of what we had been waiting for.
Despite her prayer, the engine's normal chug-chug dissolved into a series of terrible, raspy noises. Puffs of black smoke began streaming from under the hood.
Stress is to the human condition what tension is to the violin string: too little and the music is dull and raspy; too much and the music is shrill or the string snaps.
As I slumped under the weight of my defeat, a small man put his hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eye, and said in that wonderful raspy voice, that's all right.
