The Power of Faith and Positivity in Overcoming Adversity

What happens when you mix a heartwarming personal journey with a sprinkle of humor? Join us on this special episode of the Dorsey Ross Show, hosted by Chris Goldyn, as we reminisce about our college days, including a hilarious prank involving a dresser switch. As the conversation takes a deeper turn, I share my life with Apert Syndrome—a rare congenital birth defect affecting the hands, face, and sometimes toes. This candid discussion unveils the raw emotions, challenges, and victories that come with living with this condition.

Get ready to be inspired as we discuss my medical journey, involving 68 surgeries necessary for proper brain growth and function. Despite these daunting hurdles, I thrived in a loving, faith-driven household, defying medical expectations every step of the way. We'll explore my school years, where I faced social challenges and found solace in my church community. Reflecting on my evolving spiritual journey, we touch on how faith and understanding God's plan have been crucial in navigating life's ups and downs.

From college struggles to the joy of memorable sports experiences, this episode is a rollercoaster of emotions. We'll talk about the support systems that helped me through academic challenges and how finding a community made all the difference. Plus, we look forward to future adventures on my bucket list, like skydiving and skiing. Through it all, we emphasize the power of positivity and encouragement, underscoring the mission of Dorsey Ross Ministries. Don't forget to visit www.dorseyrushministries.com for more uplifting stories and resources.

Transcript

Dorsey Ross: 0:15

Hello everyone, thank you again for joining me on another episode of the Dorsure Show. Today we have a special guest host with us. His name is Chris Goldyn. He's a good friend of mine and I wanted to do this episode because he is going to interview me and ask me some questions. And I wanted to do this in the month of June because it is for most of you. You probably don't know what month it is, but it's the Apelisk Syndrome Awareness Month, which is what I have in my disability and a lot of people out there have this disability, although it is a very rare disability.

Dorsey Ross: 1:11

My friend Chris is a good friend of mine. We've known each other for probably over 20 years now and he and I went to Bible College together and we met in Bible College and we became friends only the last year that we were in Bible College. So he is a great supporter of this podcast and I wanted to have him come on and interview me. And if you go back quite a ways now in the episode list, wanted to have him come on and interview me and if you go back quite a ways now in the episode list, you'll see his story and see his episode where I interview him as well. So, chris, thank you so much for being guest co-host today.

Chris Goldyn: 1:59

Yeah, thanks for having me, Dorsey. I greatly appreciate it and I'll just put in a quick plug for your podcast. I just want to say you know, dorsey and I are very close friends but, with that being said, even if he wasn't, dorsey's podcast is fascinating and he has really really incredible guests on the podcast, and so I just encourage you guys to listen to every and any episode you can get your hands on. I've literally listened to every episode that you've done cool, just to see the variety of guests and just the show in general, how cool it is how you're able to talk to a variety of people and minister to so many different types of people by getting different people on some people, from world missions to financial stuff, to relationships and everything in between. So I just think it's really cool and I'll just put in a plug for you that it's very much worth it to listen to the dorsey ross show and share it with your friends and buy them a cup of coffee. It's a really cool way to donate to the show without giving much So, uh, with that being said, uh, I guess I'm going to take over the reins here as the host and interview you, dorise. So this is kind of cool for me, because I've never gotten to do this before. So, Dorsey, what I noticed that you like to do in the beginning of your podcast is usually have some type of icebreaker question to ask you off the top of your head what is a funny story that you could think of that involves the two of us from college, or maybe you know, in the first couple years of our friendship, um, that you would be willing to share with the audience that you think is a pretty good story oh man, funny, funny story that involves you and I together.

Dorsey Ross: 4:01

That's a great question. I think. I don't know if it's a funny story per se because and I mean this is going this is doriseD not in the beginning of our friendship, but it is involves our friendship and it's the time that we went out to Colorado together and we went out to the top of Pice Peak and it is the highest peak, I guess, in Colorado and it's so high in altitude that you know I ended up and, like I said, it's not a funny story because it involves me getting sick on the top of Pite's beak. But you know it is kind of funny because of what happened. But you know it was an interesting story to tell.

Chris Goldyn: 4:56

Absolutely, absolutely, to tell absolutely, absolutely. Well, I I will share one from college because I think it's worthwhile to go back, since you and I are on this. And, uh, I just remember there was a a funny prank that a couple of our friends pulled this one time and I won't mention other friends names on the podcast because I haven't asked them about this in advance but there was a time where me and a couple of their friends switched your dresser with another one of our friends' dresser and came back from your room and all your clothes were not there because there was somebody else's clothes and somebody else had your clothes. That was a pretty funny exchange. So I thought that was funny and we had a lot of pranks and stuff that we did in college and I just thought that was worth sharing.

Dorsey Ross: 5:47

Yeah, I do remember that. I opened up my drawers and looked under my clothes. I'm like wait, there's a way to big for me. Where did my clothes go to?

Chris Goldyn: 6:06

Good stuff, man, good stuff, all right. So to try to get us in here to focus on something now that is a little more serious. So you had mentioned at the beginning of the podcast that this is Apert's Awareness Month. I know you've shared this a few times, but just for the sake of this individual podcast, can you share for the listeners what is Apert Syndrome?

Dorsey Ross: 6:25

Yeah, apert Syndrome is a congenital birth defect which affects the hands and the face and even the toes of most people that have it and when, most of the time, when you're born with April syndrome, your forehead at least mine was my forehead was pushed outward, my eyes and nose were pushed back and my head and my fingers and toes were fused together. I mean, I had no individual movement of them and to this day my toes are still fused together. In my one podcast I did with somebody else they were interviewing me and I said my feet were fused together. I was like wait, not my feet, my toes are fused together. I was like wait, not my feet, my toes were fused together.

Dorsey Ross: 7:25

And you know, and they even asked me you know, do you? Did I ever think I would get my toes separated? And I said at this time in my life, I said I don't think I would ever need my toes to be separated because I walk pretty well. You know, I used to in my young age. I used to, you know, outpace and outwalk everybody else around me. But you know, I don't think at this time I would need that to happen.

Dorsey Ross: 8:03

And when I was born my forehead was also fused together. I had no room and no skull opening to allow the brain to grow and allow the brain to function normally and usually most babies are born with that short spot to allow the brain to function normally, and usually most babies are born with that short spot to allow the brain to grow and allow the brain to function normally. And because of the fact that I didn't have that opening, the doctors, you know, gave my parents really no hope for my survival and told my parents that hey, we don't think Dorsey will survive, we don't think he'll make it, and that the best option that we can give to you is to put him into a institution and to let him be.

Chris Goldyn: 8:59

Yeah, yeah.

Dorsey Ross: 9:02

Thankfully, my parents are both, you know, people of faith and both knew and trusted in God and said well, you know, we don't, you know we're not going to give up on him, we're not going to sign the paper over to put him into an institution. We'll take him home and see what will happen, what God will do in his life.

Chris Goldyn: 9:31

Yeah, yeah, thanks for that explanation. So yeah, you kind of dove into your story there a little bit. So how many surgeries have you had now up to this point, dorsey?

Dorsey Ross: 9:43

Up to this point, I've had 68 operations over my lifetime.

Chris Goldyn: 9:50

Wow, that's crazy. So what did they do to make room for your brain to grow Like? What was that surgery like?

Dorsey Ross: 10:02

brain in the ground. Like what was that surgery? Like, yeah, as far as I know the most of my facial surgeries, what they would do, and you can't really see it now because the way they, you know, fused it together and the the way they, you know, my hair grew, it grew everything. But if I cut it short enough, you could probably still tell a little bit that there is a scar from my left ear to my right ear where they would open that part of the skull open. And then I guess they would, you know, like, pull back the skin and you know whatnot, to operate on the bone and operate on that part of my face to open the skull open to make the room for my brain to grow. And you know they would operate on the different parts of my face to. You know, as I grew the bones and everything had to move with it, so they would move the skull and the bone structure to move that forward as well wow, that's.

Chris Goldyn: 11:19

That's really unbelievable man. So you've really gone through a lot, and that's just medically. So tell us a little bit, uh, about what growing up was like for you. What was some of the challenges that you faced in school? Um, socially, academically, physically, emotionally, all of that spiritually. And then with that I'll add a part B to the question If you could name one or maybe two people besides your parents who were very, very key in helping. Just be somebody that was a support for you and your family and you know that you could kind of lean on.

Dorsey Ross: 11:58

That's a big question. Well, spiritually, you know, thankfully, I grew up in a Christian home. I, you know, my parents, were very, you know, christian. They took me to church. They weren't the type of people, to, you know, keep me at home, home. They want the type of people to, you know, keep me away from the public eye or to keep me, you know, hidden away from where they will be like, hey, you know, we're not going to show our son off to other people. We'll, you know, keep him, you know, in the public eye, won't allow him to make friends, will allow him to go to church. And, you know, show him off to other people. And you know, I went to church as often as I could when I was younger.

Dorsey Ross: 12:57

And you know, it was difficult at times because I I got older, I would start to ask the questions of faith of why, why would a loving and caring God create me the way that he did? Why would he allow this to happen to someone? And you know, I started to, you know, get those questions, or ask those questions and get, you know, try to get the answers, and I think one of the, you know, the biggest answers that we live in a fallen world, you know, and unfortunately things happen. You know things take place in this world that you know we don't always like the answer to. But I also started to realize that, you know, as I got older, that you know God had a plan and a purpose for my life and I started to see. You know what that plan and what that purpose was. And to this day I'm still asking God you know, what is the plan and purpose that you have for me in my life and purpose that you have for me in my life? Because I think throughout life, I think sometimes those plans and those purposes change. And there were plans and purposes that God had for us change over time and I accepted Christ at the age of 13 and started to go to the youth group and attend the youth group where I felt loved and I felt accepted. On the opposite end of that, in the outside world, I would be teased and make fun of and, you know, call names like monster and freak. And you know it was at those times where I felt like, you know, ending my life, I felt like giving up. But again, you know, god intervened and said hey, you know, don't give up, there's something greater in store for your life that I have for you. You may not see it at this moment, but it's coming.

Dorsey Ross: 15:45

And you know, with the fact of my studies and with the fact of my schooling, it was difficult for me because I wasn't always in school, especially in elementary school, and there was long periods of time where I had to stay away or not stay away but stay out of school because of my recuperation from my surgery. So I would have to have someone come to the house and tutor me. And you know they were part of the school system, so they knew where the class was at that time. So they knew where the class was at that time. So they would come and, you know, tutor me and be like hey, here's what's happening. I didn't do well on tests, I didn't do well in. You know, math is one example that I didn't do well in. And you know it was that part of life where I struggled with schooling. And what was the second question you asked me about, pete?

Chris Goldyn: 17:06

Yeah, yeah. So I said could you name one or two people besides your parents that were a really major support in you and your family's life and kind of just there for you guys.

Dorsey Ross: 17:21

Yeah, I would say you know definitely the one of the youth pastors in my, in the church where I grew up.

Dorsey Ross: 17:30

He was definitely one of them. And then you know one of the youth leaders as well, and I remember the one story that I can tell from that with the youth leader is, you know, he told me one time he said, dorsey, I see you standing on stage sharing your story. And you know, back then you know this was probably when I was 18, 19 years old you know I didn't think that that's what I would be doing. I didn't think, you know, because I had a speech impediment and you probably hear a little bit of it in these videos. But back then it wasn't. It was, you know, not as bad, but it was worse than it is now. And I had to go through speech therapy growing up. I went to, you know, speech therapy classes in elementary and high school and for the most part I hated it and for the most part I hated it. I didn't understand why I was there, but I still didn't really care for it. And you know, I'm glad now looking back. I'm glad I went to it because I I'm, my speech is better off for it, and you know, but, you know, as he told me, that I was like, oh, thank you very much, you know, thank you for that encouragement.

Dorsey Ross: 19:14

And as I got older and I went to, you know, community college, I went to Bible college, I started to think about what it was that, you know, I wanted to do after I graduated, you know, college and barber college. And back then, you know, as we all do, we have dreams of what we want to do. Some of it, what for me was, you know, working with technology. Or working with computers, ask technology or working with computers. And you know, at one point it was possibly, you know, returning the favor and working in the medical field, as you know, maybe as a nurse or something of that nature. And then, you know, I started to work with the youth as I got older, in the leadership role, leadership position as I do now in my home church in PA, where I live now, because I'm originally from New York, and I started to, you know, feel, hey, maybe youth pastoring is something that I wanted, I would want to go into and what God would want me to go into. And that's what I started at what is now the University of Valley Forge.

Dorsey Ross: 20:31

But when you and I went, it was Valley Forge Christian College and you know, step by step, you know, I started to realize, hey, that's not what. Realize, hey, that's not the door that's going to open up for me. So I was able to go back home and give my story, a five-minute clip of my story of what God has already done in my life, my story of what God has done, has already done in my life, and at that time I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me and say, hey, that's what I want you to do. I want you to travel around hearing your story of what I have done for you in your life and for the last 16 years or so now, that's what I have been doing.

Chris Goldyn: 21:23

Awesome, that's great. That's really really really good. What were some of your major challenges that you faced in college?

Dorsey Ross: 21:33

Again, I would say definitely, you know, in community college at least, and in Bible college to an extent it was definitely, you know, academic at least.

Dorsey Ross: 21:41

And in barber college to an extent it was definitely, you know, academic. You know, the first few weeks of community college were very difficult for me and at the time my mom, you know, was still alive and I remember, and my parents were both, you know, big supporters of me and I remember, and my parents were both, you know, big supporters of me. They, throughout my life, they allowed me to figure out for myself what I could and could not do, and clinic wasn't very much because they, again, they allowed me to say hey, you want to do this, go and do it. You want to do that, go and do it. And you know, if you are unable to do it, you'll figure that out for yourself. And you know I wanted to go on to college, come into college, and they said okay. And the first few weeks again, were very difficult for me and I came home one day and, discussing with my mom, said, hey, I'm struggling, I don't know really what to do. And she said well, take it a few more weeks and see what happens. And at that point. If you're still struggling, you know, we'll. You know, at that point we'll discuss it and we'll see what happens.

Dorsey Ross: 23:08

And I found out they had a meeting at Cirque. It wasn't really a meeting, it was a service at Cirque and the guy there was discussing the Christian club, chi Alpha, and I went back to the community college at the time. I went back then they found out that they had the Chi Alpha club on the campus and I realized I went to the meeting for that club and again they were very welcoming, very open to accepting me in that meeting and from that time on to four years later I felt I had that support group where they would allow me to go and allow me to be there, you know. And again I, you know, was able to move up and became a leader in that group and that's where I met Kevin Bateman and then met, you know, went down the road with him, went to barbacolors with him and then later on went to what is is now net city church with him as well.

Dorsey Ross: 24:27

But although I went to a christian club with you know and met them and had that support group, it was so difficult for me to, you know, in in in that college atmosphere, at least in academics, and it took me a little while longer, you know, to graduate. It took me four years to graduate, a two-year to community college and I still went on. To, you know, even after four years of you know community college, to, you know, even after four years of you know community college, I still felt like I wanted to go on to Bible college and I did. And I went on to Bible college and, you know, again, met Kevin and eventually met all my friends at Valley Forks and you know, again, it was, it was, it was stressful. Met all my friends at Valley Forge and you know, again, it was stressful, it was tough at times, you know, having some of those professors talk about stuff that just completely, you know, flew over my head and others' heads, I'm sure as well, and you're like, what did Jesus say?

Dorsey Ross: 25:43

And you know, but again, I wanted to persevere. I wanted to continue on with what I felt and what I felt God wanted me to do.

Chris Goldyn: 25:55

Yeah, yeah, that's great. Well, and your timing worked out, you know, very well for us as well. I mean, I've told you the story before but you know, I just remember going to Valley Forge and opening weekend and orientation and they did that. You know, go through the New Testament in like a day, if you remember that. Go through the New Testament in like a day, if you remember that. I just remember seeing you from afar that first weekend and was like man. I definitely want to get to know that guy and get to know his story and I don't know what it is, but I know God's done some amazing things in that guy's life.

Chris Goldyn: 26:39

And what's interesting about Dorsey and my story is that we kind of knew each other and had some mutual friends and even lived in the same building.

Chris Goldyn: 26:47

But Dorsey and I's friendship really didn't take off until our senior year, our final year at Valley Forge, because we had some different friend circles but they kind of intertwined here and there once in a while. But you know, they kind of intertwined here and there once in a while and then, uh, you know, because you and I each stayed a little bit longer than some of our friends, it ended up being a blessing because, you know, dorsey and I ended up saying, hey, you know, we're gonna make time for each other and uh, I remember like going to the christian bookstore on friday nights and going to get a coffee or whatever, going to Exton, stuff like that. That was a good time, all right. So, moving on in your story, what have been some of the more challenging things that you want to mention about your adult life, from Bible college to now Two or three? You know really big challenges that you, and how has God carried you through them?

Dorsey Ross: 27:44

Yeah, I mean for me, I think, one of the biggest challenges. And some people may look at it and say, well, that's not a challenge, but for me personally, I think it is because for you know the most well, I won't say for the most part, but I think as people, in my own opinion, people with disabilities, it's harder for them to find, you know, a spouse, to find a girlfriend, you know, to find a husband, and for it's been difficult, in my own opinion, to find a girlfriend, to find that woman or guy that he has for me and I don't, you know, I don't attain to the fact that there's only one out there for me, there's too many people out there to only be that specific one person. But I think for me I've had difficulties to grow up to. I mean, I've had friendships. I've had, you know, friendships with people of the opposite, that who have been single. But I think it's going past that friendship part that had been difficult for me because I've always wanted you know the what if.

Dorsey Ross: 29:33

What if I ask her, hey, would you consider going out on a date with me, would you consider being my girlfriend? And the what if of her saying no, then what you know then, what happens after that, what happens to that friendship and I guess the other, you know, the other difficult thing would be, you know, health-wise, you know, not knowing, you know, yes, people with Apex can live, you know, a normal life expectancy for the most part, for the most part, but when you're, you know, when I was younger, growing up, you know I would have you know, hearing over the loudspeaker of, hey, so-and-so passed away, you know, and it would ingrain in your head. You know, hey, who's going to be next and will I be next? You know, and as I got old, as I get older, you know, I wonder, you know, how long will I actually live, how long will my life expectancy be?

Chris Goldyn: 31:08

Yeah, yeah. Well, the good news is is to receive that. I don't even know if Apert separates that you very much, because I'm at the point where I'm like, oh man, I can't move around as well as I used to either, so sometimes I think some of those questions myself. So I hear you on that. To get into a little more lighthearted conversation, you know Dorsey referenced earlier that he and I were in Colorado together. You know you guys are listening to this, but as Dorsey and I are talking I could see his big Denver Broncos thing over his TV and unfortunately they're in a pretty rough position this year. But Dorsey, for those of you who don't know, is a sports fan and does love his Broncos and we had an awesome trip out to Colorado where we got to go see them and we saw them in Philly together.

Dorsey Ross: 32:06

And they lost both times, and they lost both times.

Chris Goldyn: 32:07

Yeah, they lost both times.

Dorsey Ross: 32:09

I know it was so bad in Philly that Peyton Manning was in the game and they got pulled. He passed the.

Chris Goldyn: 32:19

You know we saw him break their passing record and then they pulled him in what the second quarter because they were losing so bad yeah, that was in denver actually, because and and it was funny because it was against kansas city, but it was before mahomes and uh, uh, they put brock osweiler in for him and brock osweiler played most of the rest of the year and then, and then, however, it ended well for you because the broncos won the super bowl that year, um, and manning broke his passing record it was like all-time passing yards or something like that and then they pulled them, but he was hurt and that's why, uh, osweiler played most of the rest of the year until, um, the playoffs, when peyton manning back. So, on a sports-related question, if there was any sporting event that you could ever go to, maybe this is an easy one for you, but what would be your bucket list sporting event thing that you would love to see at some point in your life?

Dorsey Ross: 33:24

Definitely the Super Bowl. Yeah, I would love to go see the Super Bowl at some point in your life. Definitely the Super Bowl. I would love to go see the Super Bowl at some point.

Chris Goldyn: 33:30

Okay, All right. How about wrestling? You like wrestling too? A little bit right.

Dorsey Ross: 33:36

I do like wrestling. I don't keep watching as often as I used to, but if it was wrestling, definitely WrestleMania probably at some point. Yeah, used to. But if we're wrestling, definitely, you know, definitely WrestleMania at, you know, probably at some point yeah, yeah but I, you know, I don't keep up with. You know all, you know who all is.

Chris Goldyn: 33:54

You know wrestling anymore yeah, yeah, all right, and then, uh, a little more serious, but in the same vein, do you have any bucket list items on your list? Now, you mentioned before and this has kind of always been in my mind your tagline um, you know, what you can't do isn't very much. So do you have anything in your mind that is like a bucket list item that you really would like to do, you know, before you kick the bucket at some point? That's why they call it a bucket list, that's what it's called. So. So is there something you know, like, like, like jumping out of a plane, or, or you know, I don't know, do you have anything like that? Or? Or even a career dream or goal or anything?

Dorsey Ross: 34:43

I mean, I thought about, you know, the possibility of coming out of a plane at some point yeah, yeah okay, and you know I did go skiing one time, but along one of the you know little ski ski uh slopes, but it wasn't, you know, it wasn't one of the big, big ski ski ski slopes, but I wouldn't mind trying that again, okay.

Chris Goldyn: 35:11

All right, awesome. Um, now you were referencing earlier like sometimes, you know, god, you know, uh, has has different plans for us. I think what you're alluding to is sometimes we picture things in our future when we're young and then they end up looking a lot differently when we're older than we initially pictured them. Actually, for you and I it's kind of similar.

Chris Goldyn: 35:43

We both went to school and got a bachelor's degree in youth ministry and I did some youth pastoring at my church part-time, and I've volunteered a long time for Youth for Christ in Northeast Pennsylvania here as well. So I have used that, but I never got full-time, you know, paid position for youth pastoring in either of you. But God kind of still keeps that fire in us. You know, I got my feet in youth ministry and you're, you know, a volunteer in your youth ministry, so that's really cool and God has used you to go and share your story with a bunch of people, which is also really awesome. So sometimes our stories just look different than how we pictured them, and that's okay because God still uses us and that's pretty neat. Is there anything else that I didn't ask you that you would like to mention?

Dorsey Ross: 36:48

Yeah, well, you know I did graduate, as you said. You know, we both graduated with our bachelor's degree in youth ministry. We both graduated on May 5, 2005. Unfortunately, you know, on the downside of that, my mom wasn't able to. You know, on the downside of that, my mom wasn't able to, you know, to be there because she passed away in 2002. But you know, but I know that she was, you know she probably knew about that and was probably hearing, you know, me on at that point and know, and right now I'm working at Target, which unfortunately, I mean it is what it is.

Dorsey Ross: 37:29

It happens that we sometimes need a second you know second job, or we need a job to fill in, you know, for income and whatnot, and something I didn't really want to do, to go back to retail, because I did retail for a little while before I went into full-time travel ministry and I didn't really want to do it because of the bad experience I had at, you know, the previous target. But this time around it's been a pretty good experience so far. You know it's been tough at times with you know a lot of. You know a lot of. You know it's been a good experience so far.

Chris Goldyn: 38:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And the experience you were referencing was just with one individual at the previous where you used to live, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Chris Goldyn: 38:26

and the experience you were referencing was just with one individual at the previous where you used to live, right, yeah, yeah, and that's the stuff that people don't realize. I mean, we're grown adults, you know, you and I are both in our 40s and you kind of think of bullying as something that just happens in schools, and you know. But you know, still, on some occasions, you, you still encounter some negative interactions with people. Um, can you tell, tell us a little bit about what it's like to deal with some of that, some of those negative public interactions, and how you process them or and work through them and and whatnot?

Dorsey Ross: 39:07

yeah, I mean, you know there are times when you know I get, I get, uh, stared at or, you know, looked at, and and most of it now, as I get, as I get older, most of it now is from, you know, young kids or kids that may not fully understand you know why I look the way that I do and I understand that you know to a degree why it happens.

Dorsey Ross: 39:42

Because they don't fully understand why I look the way that I do. So I, you know, I don't judge the kids as much as I judge the parents, for not fully, you know, explaining to them. You know that they're going to be, you know, regardless of disability, that they're going to be people and adults, even kids, that are going to look different. You know from them, you know, and that they need to understand that. They need to, you know, accept that fact and understand that fact. And I think we need to teach the kids, when as young as they are, understand that fact. That way, when they get older, they don't, you know, become the bully, they become the friend, they become the acceptor of those people who do look different.

Chris Goldyn: 40:47

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. That's a great point and for me as a parent with young kids, I mean, you know you're basically family to us, so I think it's just been great. You know, thank God for technology Like even during COVID and stuff like we were able to FaceTime you and have my kids see you at a very early age so that way they can understand and and and treat you and others with respect and dignity right off the get-go and have hard conversations with our kids. And I think as a society we've come pretty far too, because, like when you and I were kids, you know everybody had, everybody had, you know, dolls and GI Joes and stuff. But now they even have toys that you know some of the characters are in wheelchairs and stuff like that, and I think that's pretty cool, um, cause then it allows us to have hard conversations like that with our kids at an early age. So that's great. All right, dorsey.

Chris Goldyn: 41:42

Well, this has been a great experience for me to get to interview you and talk with you about some of your story and again, I just want to encourage listeners to go back and listen to Dorsey's old podcast. He's got some good stuff out there. Dorsey also wrote a book. You can get a copy of his book anywhere books are sold. You can get a copy of his book anywhere books are sold. Dorsey's an amazing man in every way. He's an author, a speaker, a podcaster, an ordained minister, a college graduate, youth leader and to me, he's a brother and a family member. So, dorsey, thanks for allowing me to interview you today. Do you have any questions for me?

Dorsey Ross: 42:25

What's a bucket list item that you want to do?

Chris Goldyn: 42:29

a bucket list item that I would like to do? That's a good question. I would say for me um buckle, this item that I would like to do is I think I'd like to, I think I'd like to go back to school and finish my master's. I think that would be a bucket list item.

Chris Goldyn: 42:53

Um, I'm not sure I'm too eager to jump out of a plane, but uh but but to, to go back to school and uh, and go for my master's and finish that and and uh, work with counseling kids. I think I'd really love to. I'd love to do that, so I I would say that would be mine yeah, and it would be in kunkling that's what I think.

Chris Goldyn: 43:17

so I mean, you know I could start pursuing it and end up going in a different direction who knows? But I think that's the direction that I would like to lean towards. So yeah, do you have any career bucket list items? I know you mentioned jumping out of the plane, but do you have any career aspirations or anything?

Dorsey Ross: 43:40

I thought for a while now, you know, and I'm still looking into that direction of possibly, you know, working with people with disabilities. You know whether it be Down syndrome or autistic, or even people with you know, facial, you people with facial, uh, abnormalities as well.

Chris Goldyn: 44:08

Yeah, yeah. Or like physical disabilities. Yeah, physical disabilities Right, right, right, awesome, all right, well, um again. Thanks, dorsey, and thanks for everyone who listened to this podcast. And uh, it's your podcast, so I'll let you take us out all right.

Dorsey Ross: 44:27

Thank you, chris, for coming on and interviewing me. It was a great podcast and maybe we'll you know, have you on again and we'll talk. Uh, next time we'll talk sports and talk about look along games and then in the wakens yeah, I mean, I'd like that.

Chris Goldyn: 44:45

I'm not sure if your listeners would love that. You're always spreading positivity and encouragement and right now, watching the celtics be in the finals, does that make me happy. So, um, so we could save that for a sports podcast, but, um, yeah, I just thank you for being encouraging and inspiring and motivating and sharing the hope that the Word of God, the Bible and Jesus has for us, and how that's impacted others' lives through your different avenues and media and all that, and we just really greatly appreciate it. So thank you, dorsey.

Dorsey Ross: 45:24

Yeah, definitely. Well, guys and girls, thank you again for listening and for coming on. Please like and share, leave a review on our apple podcast and any podcast platform you listen to, and also check out my website at wwwdorseyrushministriescom. God bless, until next time. Bye-bye.