The Morning Formation (TMF) Podcast

Triumph Over Adversity: Ken Kunken's Inspiring Journey from Quadriplegia to District Attorney

• KP • Season 3 • Episode 4

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Join us for an inspiring conversation with Ken Kunken, whose journey from overcoming a life-altering injury to thriving as a district attorney is nothing short of remarkable. At 20, Ken faced an immense challenge when he became a quadriplegic, yet he didn't let this deter him from pursuing his dreams. Through sheer resilience and a refusal to accept societal limitations, Ken returned to college in the 1970s, navigated an inaccessible campus, and eventually earned a law degree, proving skeptics wrong. His story is a testament to determination and an inspiring example for anyone facing their own obstacles.

Ken's professional achievements are equally impressive, having been inducted into a mentoring Hall of Fame and leaving a lasting impact on the education system for individuals with disabilities. Listen as Ken shares his most challenging experiences following his injury and emphasizes the importance of maintaining high expectations for oneself and others. He also opens up about his unique love story with Anna, highlighting how personal connections and mentorship have played a vital role in his journey. Ken's narrative serves as a powerful reminder of the potential within everyone, regardless of their circumstances.

In addition to his professional successes, Ken's personal life is filled with passion and dedication. He speaks about his role as a husband and father and finds joy in nature and spending time with his children. With a penchant for football, particularly as a New York Jets fan, Ken shares his excitement for the sport and the lessons it has taught him. His work with the Viscardi Center further exemplifies his commitment to empowering individuals with disabilities. As we wrap up, Ken leaves us with a message of empowerment and advocacy, encouraging listeners to connect with him through the links provided in the show notes:

Main Website: https://kenkunken.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Ken-Kunken/61566473121422/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdUUa2hyQF8ubUmEARY9WKA
IG: https://www.instagram.com/ken.kunken/
LInkdIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenneth-j-kunken-b4b0a9a8/


Link for listeners: https://kenkunken.com/

“I Dream of Things That Never Were: The Ken Kunken Story,” published in 2023.
If anyone is interested in purchasing the book from outside the US or Canada, the Kindle version is available through Amazon.com (the US version, not the regional like Amazon.eu or .pl). Here is the link:
https://a.co/d/1t1UWIN

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Speaker 1:

Hey folks, today I have my first civilian guest for the Morning Formation podcast. His name is Ken Kunkin. He is a retired district attorney. The most amazing part about Ken is the fact that at 20 years old he became a quadriplegic. Now I know that many of us have setbacks in our lives, whether they're already there when we're born or perhaps something happens to us. It's important for you to understand that things can change in the blink of an eye, and for many of you out there that are listening to this podcast or watching this podcast, I think that you'll be inspired with Mr Kunkin's story, because at 20 years old he could have just quit and called it a day and sat down in the chair for the rest of his life and watched TV. But instead he went back to college, got his law degree, became a practicing attorney in the state of New York, eventually got married and had triplet sons. So I hope that you're inspired today by this podcast. I hope you enjoy it. I plan on still interviewing our military community, but I think there's so many civilians out there that have such great stories of resiliency and I really enjoyed talking to Mr Kunkin today and I'm looking forward to many more shows and podcasts for TMF podcast TMF for short. I do have plans on selling these shirts soon, so please stay tuned and thank you for your continued support. I really appreciate it. Hope you guys are having a great 2024 so far.

Speaker 1:

Let's get to the show. Warriors fall in. It's time for formation. You know, I've really focused in the last two years on interviewing folks that were related somehow in some way to the military community, and over the last couple of years I've realized that there's a lot of folks out there that have very inspiring, tremendous stories of overcoming and achieving, and I'd really like to expand my network out as far as my guests, to civilians and just folks out there that have that no-quit attitude, the grit, the resiliency, because I think that's one thing that we're missing in today's environment, especially in our society. Today, a lot of people just simply give up and they're not willing to fight. And today I'm very, very fortunate to be joined by Ken Kunkin, who is a quadriplegic, an attorney and, probably most proudest of all, the father of triplets, which can be quite a handful. And so, ken, I just want to thank you today for being on the Morning. Formation podcast.

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you for having me and giving me the opportunity to tell my story.

Speaker 1:

The honor is all in this end of the microphone. Honestly, and you know, you overcame a lot at a very young age, at a formidable age at that. At 20 years old, you became a quadriplegic and I just want to give you an opportunity to tell our audience how that came about and what was that like trying to pick yourself back up.

Speaker 2:

Well, it happened soon after I turned 20 years old. I had just begun my junior year at Cornell University, where I was studying industrial engineering, and I was playing on their lightweight football team, which was a league for people who were smaller usually than the typical heavyweight varsity football team, but it's still a varsity sport. In fact, two of our games were against the military academies, Army and Navy. But I got hurt in a game against Columbia University. It happened to be on Halloween day in 1970. And I made a tackle of the ball carrier on a kickoff and I broke my neck and severely damaged my spinal cord and as a result, I'm a quadriplegic spinal cord and as a result, I'm a quadriplegic. I'm almost totally paralyzed from the shoulders down. I have just a little bit of movement in my left arm, but nothing in my fingers or my wrist, and on the right side of my body I can just sort of shrug my shoulder a bit. So for the last 54 years I've been almost totally paralyzed years I've been almost totally paralyzed.

Speaker 1:

That's insane In 1970, let's talk about the accommodations for folks that were in your situation back then.

Speaker 2:

Well, that was about 20 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act, so very few facilities were actually wheelchair accessible. And when I got out of the hospital, I returned to Cornell University where I'd been studying, and there was not one ramp or curb cut on the entire campus. So every one of the buildings that I went to had steps in front of them, and one of the classes that I took three times a week had 16 steps in front of it, and my dorm room was in a building that had 10 steps just to get in. So on my first day of classes I had to be either pulled up or bounce down close to 100 steps just to attend my first day.

Speaker 1:

That's insane. And during that time, how many times did you hear folks tell you that you can't?

Speaker 2:

All the time. I mean, I think everybody thought I was probably crazy to be going back to Cornell, such an inaccessible campus, especially so soon after my injury. I had only been out of the hospital nine days when I returned to Cornell and I think a lot of people thought that there was not a very good chance for me to succeed. I think most people, if they were going to bet on it, probably would have betted that I would not have been able to even finish the semester.

Speaker 1:

At any point in time were you ever like really embarrassed or felt like you were just part of a nuisance and you were like you know, I could just quit and go home and everything would you know. I could just sit and watch a TV and just kind of you know weather away. I mean, was there any point where you've kind of felt like you know it'd be easier if I went the other route?

Speaker 2:

Many times, many times In fact. Soon after I returned to school, I was approached by a student on campus who asked me if I was Ken Kunkin, and when I responded that I was, he responded aren't you supposed to be in the hospital? And I have to tell you there were times when I seriously thought maybe I should be back in the hospital or rehab center or back at home with my family, because every day posed new challenges for me back at school and, as I say, just dealing with the enormous number of steps was a challenge. But, in addition, everywhere I went I was being stared at, because it was so unusual to see somebody in my condition on this campus and that was very uncomfortable for me as well. I never liked drawing special attention to myself, and everywhere I went I was being stared at.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I can't imagine how awkward that was for you, even on a daily basis. So I'm sure that you had folks out there that were the naysayers. But who was your support back then?

Speaker 2:

Oh, it was definitely my family. My family's been so supportive every step of the way, and by family I'm not just talking about parents, brother and sister, step of the way. And by family I'm not just talking about parents, brother and sister, I'm talking about aunts, uncles, cousins, everybody that was in any way both involved as a relative, but also a lot of friends, which is so supportive, and they basically assured me that they would act as my arms and legs to make sure I could do everything I wanted to do.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's huge. I don't know how anyone especially back in 1970, could have gotten through finishing you know, any type of accomplishment like that, especially with the accessibility that wasn't there back then. People probably can't even imagine like kids today can't imagine what it's like not to have a cell phone right. I can't imagine you being a quadriplegic, in a wheelchair, needing all the assistance that you needed to finish up. So what was it like finishing up at Cornell, and how did you decide to become a lawyer?

Speaker 2:

Okay, first let me just comment one thing. When you said about kids today cannot imagine being without a cell phone. When I was injured it seemed like the medical professionals thought the best I would ever be able to do would be to someday sell magazine subscriptions over the telephone. Now, at that time the telephones were rotary telephones. They weren't even push button phones. The telephones were rotary telephones, they weren't even push-button phones. So I couldn't even dial a telephone back then, let alone take notes or write anything. So everything back then posed challenges. They certainly didn't have laptop computers back then. So everything that I was doing seemed to pose challenges, since I needed help with virtually everything. But through a lot of help from my fellow classmates I was able to complete the final two years of my undergraduate degree in engineering and I graduated as the first quadriplegic ever to graduate from Cornell University. But after my graduation I started to think you know, engineering just didn't really seem like a viable field for me. I knew that what I really wanted to do was to help others, in particular people who were dealing with disabilities or life-altering diseases or just people who were dealing with significant challenges in their life. So I decided to pursue a career in counseling and I stayed at Cornell and I earned a Master of Arts degree in counseling and student personnel administration and then to increase oh and by the way, I became the first quadriplegic to earn a graduate degree from Cornell as well. But to increase my counseling credentials I then went to Columbia University where I earned my second master's degree. This was a master of education degree in psychological counseling and rehabilitation, and I decided to look for a job in the rehabilitation counseling field. To my dismay, no one would hire me. I sent out more than 200 resumes and looked for a job for a year. I was even turned down when I went off to volunteer my services. Everyone felt I was just too disabled to work back then and I was just really fortunate to be hired by a facility called Abilities Incorporated, which was part of what was then called the Human Resources Center, is now called the Viscardi Center. They're located here on Long Island and they hired me to work as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for other individuals who had severe disabilities.

Speaker 2:

Now you asked about law school. I loved the job as a rehabilitation counselor and I worked for more than two years at that facility. But part of my job was to speak at conferences and organizations to different groups about non-discrimination and affirmative action concerning people with disabilities, and often after my talks I would be asked questions and while I would do my best to answer them, I was always careful to tell the questions they should really consult with a lawyer about their concerns. And I guess it didn't take long before I started to think you know, there's no reason why I couldn't become that lawyer. So I left my job and went to Hofstra University School of Law.

Speaker 2:

While I was in law school I found a new way that I could help people and serve the community. But one of the things that I also did I have an older brother named Steven who was working as a trial lawyer at the time for the public defender's office, and I used to watch my brother in court and I found that was a really exciting type of law that I thought I could do as well, since it involved mostly speaking. So I did an internship at the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, loved the internship, loved the idea of working, doing public service from a different perspective, working as a trial attorney, as a prosecutor. So I applied for a full-time job at the office and I was very fortunate that they hired me a full-time job at the office and I was very fortunate that they hired me.

Speaker 1:

Ken, you're such a huge influencer and such an inspiration Over the years you know, with, especially, children that are disabled, handicapped, how have you tried to reach out to be sort of an inspiration or a beacon of hope for their future and and and success?

Speaker 2:

Well a number of ways. When I was working at the Viscardi Center, they also had a school there for handicapped children and a couple of times I was a guest speaker there. And one of the people that I met there was a person by the name of Robert Papier who also used an electric wheelchair. He has muscular dystrophy and Rob has credited me because we've interacted on many occasions with influencing him, so much so that he then went to law school and is currently a Nassau County District Court judge, and I've been so pleased to remain good friends with Judge Robert Papir and I know he has credited me with being his source of inspiration to go on and become a lawyer and now a judge. So I've tried to interact with children whenever I can. In fact, I was recently inducted into a mentoring Hall of Fame for work I've done in taking student interns or helping others with their, whether it be their educational goals or dealing with their disabilities.

Speaker 1:

It's absolutely amazing, you know. It's amazing to find folks like you out there that haven't had their stories quite reach a larger audience, and that's why I'm so honored to talk to you today, and you recently had the award that was named after you as well. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Speaker 2:

Oh, as I surprised when the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, where I worked for a total of 40 plus years, decided to present an award annually, the first time they've ever done this. They're presenting an award annually to an outstanding assistant district attorney each year and they named the award for me, the Kenneth J Kumpkin Award, and I am just so honored and thrilled that I've been honored that way.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and so that was started in just 2023, right, yeah, just this past December. Amazing, ken, over the years. Aside from your family and your triplets, what would you say, professionally and career-wise, was your biggest win out of everything that you've accomplished?

Speaker 2:

was your biggest win out of everything that you've accomplished? Well, the biggest win happened to be not only just going back to school and completing my education, but seeing now that so many others are doing the same thing. You know, now that colleges and universities are being made more wheelchair accessible, I see more and more people going to school, going for higher education and becoming professionals in different areas. Now, when I was first hurt, I didn't know of any other role models that I could look to for inspiration and guidance or support to know that could be done. I mean there may have been people out there, but I did not know about them.

Speaker 2:

I mean I got hurt well before Christopher Reeve was hurt. Christopher Reeve was such a tremendous role model for so many people and it was such a terrible loss for us all when he passed away way too early. But at the time of my injury I didn't have those role models to look at. So I've been just honored that a number of people have said I'm a role model for them and that makes me feel absolutely terrific that I can help and inspire and motivate people to do more with their lives.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely amazing. I mean, back then. People can't fathom 1970. No, that was before I was born. I was born in 1980. But even in 1970, there was no way to really connect with folks unless you met them in person. There was no Instagram, there was no Facebook, there was no TikTok. There was no way for you to just go online and type something in. You had to know them in person. They had to be in your radius of residence in order for you to really know them, or just bump into them while you're traveling or on vacation or something, and so finding that inspiration outside of your own circle can be quite a challenge. Ken, what would you say overall is your worst day quite a challenge, ken.

Speaker 2:

What would you say overall, is your worst day my worst day? Well, that's difficult to say because you know there were quite a number of them, but it would certainly be soon after my injury. While I was a patient in the hospital, the doctors were telling me very little about the condition I was in. I was pretty much kept in the dark about everything and it was frightening to see that I could not move. I had no sensation through most of my body and I was constantly passing out due to problems with blood pressure. And you know the what I could see in the doctor's eyes and in the way everybody was treating me was they were giving me very little hope that I'd ever be able to leave a useful or productive or a happy life.

Speaker 2:

So I would say it was pretty much the entire time I was in the hospital was very difficult to deal with on a day-to-day basis because I felt there just wasn't much hope out there from the people that I was dealing with. And, if I might add one more thing, it just seemed to be such limited expectations for someone in my condition. That's why I mentioned that they thought the best I'd ever be able to do would be to sell magazine subscriptions over the telephone. I'd like people to know that it's so important to keep your expectations high for people, because a person's performance often rises or falls based upon what others expect of them. So it's so important to keep your expectations high, and I think that would help so many people do more with their lives.

Speaker 1:

Right. Just believing in others and mentoring others and having conversations with folks can make a world of difference, because some people are limited to the end of their street and that's it. They think that's where the edge of the earth rounds, and then they cannot see beyond that. So definitely someone like yourself understands that there's way more beyond the horizon that you can accomplish. And I see here, ken, that you found love late in life. Talk about that. That's difficult, I would say right. I mean, can you talk a little bit about how that happened? You difficult, I would say Right, I mean, can you talk a little bit about how that happened?

Speaker 2:

You know it sure is. You know, like many young men, I dreamed of someday meeting and having a satisfying relationship with the perfect woman. And, as you might imagine, dating when you're a quadriplegic and trying to impress a woman when you're almost totally paralyzed poses certainly its own unique set of challenges. But I was very fortunate that I met the woman of my dreams. My name is anna. She's actually just sitting to my right right now, just off camera, and anna is the most incredible woman I ever met.

Speaker 2:

And I met an Anna. Initially because I was looking for an individual to help me on weekends take care of me with my physical needs, and I put an ad in the newspaper that Anna responded to and I initially hired Anna as my weekend personal care attendant. And the more Anna and I talked and got to know each other, our relationship progressed and clearly we knew there was something between the two of us that you just could not put into words. It was some real chemistry that developed and in 2003, anna and I were married and that was one of the best times of my life, and I say one of the best because my story got better. As you indicated before, I'm now the father of triplet boys and through in vitro fertilization, ana became pregnant and on January 24, 2005, I was present in the delivery room when my wife, ana, gave birth to my triplet sons. So if you're going to talk about the best day of my life, that would be it Becoming the father of triplet boys.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. Absolutely, I mean something that seems out of out of reach. Absolutely, I mean something that seems out of reach, right? Because I can't imagine how difficult it would be for someone in your situation to go out and date, and even people that are able to have the freedom physically to have difficulties. I live in LA, so I'm constantly asking bachelors and bachelorettes in this crazy society that we have today, what's it like out there? And it's a complete zoo with with folks and different ideas and different ideologies. But so your three boys are there in college now, right?

Speaker 2:

They're all sophomores in college. They go into three different schools in upstate New York, all studying three different majors, and they're doing absolutely great in each of their schoolings and they're staying very close to it, which I'm very proud of. They text, they FaceTime with each other pretty much on a daily basis. They've visited each other, they've gone to classes with each other. It's just great to see the way they've developed and progressed.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely amazing, and I didn't mean to skip over this earlier but you went to not just some midline universities, you went to the top, basically. I mean, I went to college too, but I would never imagine myself having gone to Cornell or Hofstra. Why? Why was that? Was it just because of the quality of education? Did you ever think that I need to go to a lesser type of school that may have more? Well, I guess back then there was probably no universities that had any more accessibility. Right, right, yeah.

Speaker 2:

I mean, actually Hofstra, which was right near my home, was actually one of the first schools to become wheelchair accessible. But I was a junior at Cornell at the time of my injury and I enjoyed it there so much and I knew I had friends in my fraternity I was in the Sigma Nu fraternity and friends on the football team and I just thought, if I'm going to go back to school, that's where I wanted to go because I enjoyed it there so much and I am so proud of all three of my boys. But I have to tell you that 50 years after I graduated from Cornell, my son, joseph, became a freshman there. So one of my boys is actually going to my alma mater, the other two are going to schools nearby and I couldn't be more proud of all three of them.

Speaker 1:

Nice, yes, well, sounds like they have foundationally great parents out there, especially, you know, a mother that you know found love, I think, right in the heart and the soul of someone. Versus, you know, at the end of the day, everyone out there is all about just the surface stuff, right, but it sounds like you and Anna really developed some deep, deep emotional feelings for each other, and you've been you're a highly intelligent man with a lot of resiliency behind you as well. Just want to ask you, you know behind you as well, just want to ask you, you know, for folks out there that are listening, can you talk about anything that has to do with inspiring someone to help motivate them to make the most of a bad situation? We're all dealt a different hand of cards. What message do you have for those folks out there? You?

Speaker 2:

know it's so important to believe in yourself. You need to believe that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. You know I love my secretary once showed me a clipping in the mail and it showed of a pussycat looking in the mirror and seeing himself as a lion. And that's how you need to feel about yourself. You need to look in that mirror and feel like you are the king of the jungle, that you can accomplish anything that you set your mind to. And no, don't listen to the naysayers, don't listen to the people who tell you you can't do something or that it's just too difficult. You need to believe that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to it and then make up your mind to work hard to do that.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and you know, just sitting here thinking about it, I went to Wright State University for my undergraduate degree, which is a very much accessible university, and there was quite a few folks that were disabled, handicapped, and I had a really good friend of mine named Kara, who was in a wheelchair, who was in a wheelchair, and her now husband, adam, was as well, and so I just want to give a quick shout out to them, just thinking about them right now and and listening to your stories and all the things that they overcame. She's, she was always kind of an inspiration for me in that aspect. And, ken, what would you say overall? What would you say overall, motivates you or has motivated you to be the best that you could be? Where does all this come from? Where does that fire come from?

Speaker 2:

Well, it certainly starts with my family. I mean my family is bonded together. My family has been overcoming obstacles every step of the way. I mean one thing I don't believe you know or the listeners know shortly after I was born, my mother died. My mother died from polio during the polio epidemic in 1950. So I was less than a month old when my mother died and at the time my brother had polio as well, but fortunately his was a mild case and he totally recovered. In fact he later became a terrific athlete.

Speaker 2:

But my family, my extended family, everyone grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins have always bonded together to help each other, and it was through their help and support that I was able to do the things that I did. That nobody thought would be possible, but everybody helped me do it. And one of the things that I would encourage your listeners to is it's so important to participate. Don't just sit back at home waiting for something to happen. Good things come to you when you work for them, and it's only when you're actively involved that you have control over the outcome. So my message would be get out there, participate and do as much with your life as you can.

Speaker 1:

Life goes by so fast. I feel like after I turned 21, I blinked and I was like 30 and I blinked again and I became 40. So get out there and get out there and do as much as you can every day. And, ken, I want to make sure that I mention this as well. I understand that you recently wrote a book about your life. Can you talk a little bit about that as well? Sure.

Speaker 2:

I wrote a book called I Dream of Things that Never Were the Ken Kumpkin Story, which is about my entire life, but certainly mostly since my injury, and I describe in a lot of detail exactly what it was like from my perspective what it was like being a patient and going through what I went through, and how I felt when I was dealing with medical professionals, how I felt when I was dealing going back at school and dealing not only with the school administration but professors and classmates and the reactions that I got, and what it was like to date again, to go out on a date, to fall in love, to get married and to go through the in vitro fertilization, and then what it's like the wonderful life I have now being the father of triplets.

Speaker 2:

So my book is called I Dream of Things that Never Were the Ken Kunkin Story, and if I might just tell you how I came up with that title, while I was still a patient in the rehab center, I was asked to testify before a United States Senate Health Subcommittee chaired by Senator Edward Kennedy, and eight days after my testimony, senator Kennedy sent me a glass paperweight in the mail that had an inscription on it that the senator said his late brother, robert Kennedy, liked very much, and the words on that inscription were some men see things as they are and say why. I dream of things that never were and say why not? And that's why I got the title of my book I Dream of Things that Never Were. So you could look for it on my website, kenkunkencom. It'll tell you how it could be purchased. Obviously, it could be purchased on Amazon, but there are other ways as well. So if everybody would like to buy the book, they can go to kenkunkincom and it'll tell you how to purchase the book.

Speaker 1:

Sounds like it'd be a great Christmas gift. The holiday is coming up soon. Definitely something to check out. I know I like to download a lot of audio books. Do you have it on there, Ken?

Speaker 2:

You know we're actually working on an audio book. I've already dictated the book. It still needs to be edited and put together, but we're working on that. But the book is also available as an e-book in Kindle, so you could buy it right now on either hardcover or on the Kindle, and we're working on the audiobook.

Speaker 1:

Awesome. Yeah, I live in a very traffic-filled city here in Los Angeles, so I'm constantly listening to things on the go, and that's what really got me into podcasting. Was that two to three-tier deep level of conversation that we're having today as well, today's hustle and bustle. I live in a big city myself and I can't even imagine the frustrations that you have, just physically and just mentally, with everything going on. What advice do you have for folks out there when it comes to dealing with stress overall? I can't imagine how frustrated you get at times about things, but what advice do you have for folks out there and how do you deal with stress?

Speaker 2:

You know that's an interesting question. That's one of the questions most people never ask me or never think about, and that's been one of the difficult adjustments I've had to make. Before my injury, one of the ways I dealt with stress was out on the football field. I could take out all my frustrations, but I go out on the football field and run into somebody or do something physically active. Once I was injured I didn't have that outlet for stressful situations. So what I found that was to help me was if I can get out in nature, spend time sitting out in the garden or hopefully sitting by the ocean or a lake, you know, or just in a in a you know a grassy area and just spend some time with nature. Now my best stress relievers are my children. You know, whenever I'm in a stressful situation, if I could spend time with them and see how they are handling their day-to-day activities and see the smiles on their faces, that takes away almost all my anxieties.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I could totally see where when they were babies they were probably stressing you out quite a bit. Now that they're older, they take probably stressing you out quite a bit. Now that they're older, they take care of themselves.

Speaker 2:

Right, that's right. But you know, it is so much joy in their eyes and watching the things they do, and they're so helpful to me as well. In fact, even when they were little, if they went out they'd come back and say, dad, you could go there, it's accessible, it has a ramp. They would notice these things even at an early age. It's great to see, and they are such great help to me as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I guess the stress question just kind of came up in my mind where I was just thinking man, like we constantly, on a day-to-day basis, stress out about things, but Ken, you must go through so much more, and where do you go from here? I mean, you've accomplished so much. Do you have goals for the future, like things that you want to accomplish still?

Speaker 2:

My goal is to be the best husband and father I could possibly be, and that's something I work at on a daily basis and it is so much fun to do. I'm loving being with my wonderful, wonderful wife and seeing the progress that my boys are making as sophomores in college and watching them point towards a career in three different professions that it looks like right now, and just being a good family person to my relatives. But also I'm involved on the board of directors at the Viscardi Center now, where I try and help other individuals with disabilities, and one of my goals is to do as much as I can to help those with needs, particularly those with disabilities. So I'm very thankful that I have the opportunity to serve in that capacity as a member of the board of directors of the Viscardi Center.

Speaker 1:

And you've accomplished so much and you're certainly a huge inspiration, ken, and you are currently in Long Island, right or New York Right.

Speaker 2:

I'm in Long Island, which is part of New York, I'm about 45 minutes from New York City. Since I'm on Long Island, which is part of New York, I'm about 45 minutes from New York City.

Speaker 1:

Since football was your first passion. I'm even afraid to ask you who is your team?

Speaker 2:

Oh, the New York Jets For years and years and years. I live and die following the New York Jets.

Speaker 1:

It's been a rough year for them, so hopefully they can pick it up Right.

Speaker 2:

Well, they won their last game, so hopefully that's a portent of things to come.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, do you get to attend a lot of games out there.

Speaker 2:

You know I used to go. I haven't gone in a while but I went for a while and you know I've had the opportunity to do that on a number of occasions. But right now I'm glued to the television set on Sundays and watching the Jets and the Giants every week.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm a big college football fan myself, so I understand that that's your first passion. But hey, best of luck to the Jets. I hope they can figure it out. They seem like a great organization, thank you. So, ken, out of everything that we mentioned today, was there anything that I missed or anything that you'd like to discuss or talk about before we finish up the podcast?

Speaker 2:

You know, one of the things that I'd like to mention is there's so much people with disabilities can do if people would give them the opportunity to do that. I had such a difficult time when I was looking for a job and I know there's so many others with disabilities that can work, work well, want to work, and I know employees, employers when they hire somebody with a disability, they find that a worker with a disability are some of the hardest workers an employer can ever hope to find, and they're loyal, dedicated, devoted employees and I would like employers out there everywhere to know if they have the chance to help somebody with a disability by employing somebody who's looking for a job, to do that. I tell you, it just makes good business sense for the employer to do that, but for everybody else in addition, helping others is so important. There's so much you can do to make not only your life better but the lives of those around you better as well. So find time to help others.

Speaker 1:

That's a great message. It's all about character at the end of the day, resiliency and work ethic. When it comes down to it, the physical limitations might hold you back a little bit, but in reality, especially in today's world, that's really no excuse. I mean there's especially coming from when you got injured and became a quadriplegic in 1970. You made no excuses and you still went out there, Just like in a football game. You put your shoulder down and you hit life right in the gut and you are where you are today, being the attorney that you are, the father of three boys and finding marriage even later in life, which can be quite difficult for folks out there in today's world. I'll make sure that I put all your social media on the show notes of the podcast, as well as the YouTube video. And, ken, I just want to say thank you so much. I'll let you get back to watching Penn State and the Ohio State game. I'm sure you're somewhat of a college football fan, right, right.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so that's going on right now, the OSU Penn State game. But, ken, thank you so much for the opportunity. It's been a pleasure, it's been an honor to interview someone of your magnitude of life achievements. So thank you so much, sir.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, and thank you for giving me this opportunity to tell my story to all of your listeners. I appreciate that.

Speaker 1:

Folks, as for everyone else out there, make sure you follow Ken and, as always, I want you to stay tuned, stay focused and stay motivated. Warriors fall out.