Think strength.Immediate visions display those of physical dominance, the muscular side of life.
We picture barbells and biceps.
Sit-ups and six-pack stomachs.
Bunyon and Babe.
True strength, however, is not determined by how one looks while shirtless on the beach.
It is the ability to leap hurdles, even when the legs are rendered frozen and shoes simply decorate the feet.
One of the three young men you're about to meet is strong enough to raise a hand to shake, but cannot squeeze the grip.
The other two couldn't bench-press a shuttlecock.
J.J. O'Connor, Rob Komosa and Rocky Clark breezed through childhood.
Like any other kid, they got in trouble, skinned their knees, hugged their parents, missed the bus, choked down their spinach.
And they dreamed of being president, flying to the moon, or playing in the big leagues.
J.J., Rob and Rocky were in complete control and, as their teenage years descended upon them and offered even more avenues toward independence, not once did any of them think what life would be like with someone pushing them around.
Least of all in a wheelchair.
That is where they sit today, each one the victim of a broken neck suffered while playing the sports they love.
"You don't expect anything tragic to happen to yourself, even though you see it in newspapers and on television all the time," Rob says.
"But it takes only one second for something to change your life forever."
The three visited Walter Payton's Roundhouse on Tuesday where Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith was being honored as this year's recipient of the "Spirit of Sweetness" award.
J.J., Rob and Rocky captained a Q & A with Smith that will soon air on FM-95.9 (The River).
While waiting patiently for Smith -- one of the NFL's all-time greats -- to escape from the Chicago media and find his seat in the leather chair stationed before them, the young radio hosts granted me an interview -- one I'll never, ever forget.
Here are their stories:
* J.J. O'Connor, 23, was injured in 1995 in a midget league hockey game in Skokie.
He was battling one-on-one against a good friend on the opposing team when the puck slid toward the boards.
"We were going after it pretty quick," J.J. recalls.
"We were talking trash just like friends do when they're playing against each other and I tried to duck under him.
I was like Superman flying into the boards.
I went in head-first and he went in feet-first.
He got up and skated away.
And I didn't."
J.J., who struggles to lift his arms, recently graduated from Lake Forest College.
He is webmaster for the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois.
He hopes to pursue a career in professional speaking and plans on seeking his master's degree from DePaul University, beginning with classes in January.
* Rob Komosa, 20, broke his neck in 1999 while playing running back at Rolling Meadows High School.
During a practice, Rob crashed head-first into an unpadded, metal pole that was anchored by a concrete base just five yards out of bounds.
Rob now blows into a straw to control every function of his wheelchair, including the support pad behind his neck, which he tilts back so his mother can feed him.
"In my case," he says, "I don't blame the game.
I blame the field conditions."
Rob, who transferred from Rolling Meadows to Palatine after his injury, broke his neck on Oct. 6.; his mom's birthday is Oct. 4; his maternal grandmother died on Oct. 2.
J.J. also was injured in October.
"If I could skip over and go right to November," J.J. says, "I would."
Rob is currently working at the Illinois Employment Center in Arlington Heights where he assists in web-page design to make the Internet more accessible for people with disabilities.
Rob plans to return to Palatine to take more classes in the fall so h e "can get ready for college."
* Rocky Clark, 18, graduated from Chicago Eisenhower High School on June 3, a date he remembers just as clearly as Sept. 15, 2000, the day his life changed forever.
A tailback, Rocky took a pitch in a game against Oak Forest.
He was wrapped up by one defender and, "by the time I looked up to dodge another player, I got tackled from the top," he said.
Rocky went down awkwardly, and his left shoulder pinched against the side of his head an instant before he hit the ground.
He does not remember much else about the game.
Rocky will attend Prairie State -- a community college in Chicago Heights -- this fall and, in two years, hopes to transfer to the University of Illinois in Champaign.
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Soon after accepting his fate, J.J. chose to help others who faced similar hardships.
He introduced himself and his situation to Rob and, not only did a friendship develop, but the incredible act of selflessness snowballed.
"Rob visited Rocky in the hospital the way I visited Rob," says J.J., who cannot shield the smile beginning to curl on his face.
"Now I can't get rid of them.
They're calling me all the time, bothering me."
Their stories are ones of fortitude and perseverance.
Mental hulks, all of them.
"We just try to stay strong, stay positive," Rocky says.
"We all know that we still have a life outside the wheelchair."
We shouldn't dare feel sorry for these guys, for they seek no condolence.
But, oh, how I wish we could -- only because sympathy might be the one thing that could provide them enough strength to lift an arm and punch us square in the nose.
What a blessing that would be. You can contact Tim Wagner at 630-801-5487 or send e-mail to twagner@scn1.com
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